Son of War
by penfic
Summary: War is destined to destroy Earth, until one can be unearthed. Magnetic, Assisting and always Kind, that is the one you must find. Evil and sin tolerating none, that shall be the Chosen One that shall be the Son.
1. Chapter 1

Son of War

So a new year, a new story…

Actually, I wrote this one a while ago, before I really watch the seasons, so if things don't match up, tell me. I'm thinking about changing the title, but I haven't thought of a new one yet.

Disclaimer: Anything you can google is not mine.

War is destined to destroy Earth,

Until one can be unearthed.

Magnetic, Assisting, and always Kind,

That is the one you must find.

Evil and sin, tolerating none,

That shall be the Chosen One;

That shall be the Son.

Chapter 1 – Reefside

"Lori Kellen…Lori…Miss Kellen!"

"Huh?" Lori asked, jumping in shock.

"If you're going to sleep during class, then why bother coming to school at all? Why don't you stay at home and sleep in your comfortable little bed?!"

"S-sorry, Mrs. Rush," Lori apologized, sitting up straight.

The history teacher could be described with the subject she taught: ancient history. She was old and wrinkled; you could barely see her eyes under her heavily folded skin. Her hair was grayer than the lead from Lori's pencil and she reeked of old people smell. She hobbled feebly on a cane, bent over like the hunchback of Notre Dame. As she walked back to the front of the room after rudely breaking Lori's train of thought, it looked as if her hip was about to give out any second. Lori wondered how easily it would be to push Mrs. Rush over and have it look like an accident. It wouldn't be hard.

"All right," the aged woman rasped, turning around to face the class. "Thanks to your new friend, Miss Kellen, you all have a test on Christopher Columbus' expedition to the New World tomorrow. It will consist of three essay questions, each worth 50 points. The test will be counted for half your quarter grade."

"_What_?!" the class cried.

"Plus, I want a report on whether or not you think we should celebrate Columbus Day due on my desk as you enter the room tomorrow. Class dismissed!"

"Uh, thanks a lot, Kellen," groaned the students, pushing roughly past her as we all got up out of our seats and headed out the door, muttering all sorts of different nasty stuff.

Today was Lori Kellen's first day attending Reefside High School. She was the only preteen, at the age of 12, and a foot shorter than everybody else in the freshman year. The other students were even bigger, and Lori made sure to stay well away from them. She was only following in the footsteps of her best friend, Justin Stewart, who was an 11-year-old freshman at Angel Grove High eight years ago. She had met Justin at the Little Angels Haven Children's Shelter in Angel Grove when she was five. Lori learned from Justin and became smart like him, accelerating in academics as well as physical talents (especially at martial arts, becoming an expert by the age of 10). Because of that, she was isolated from the others kids her age, but that didn't mean she didn't make any friends. Actually, Lori made loads of friends, all of which were a lot older than her, but that didn't matter. She made friends with Justin's friends (who were also several years older than he): Tommy Oliver, Adam Park, Katherine Hillard (Kat), Tanya Sloan, Theodore Jay Jarvis Johnson (TJ), Carlos Vallertes, Ashley Hammond, and Cassie Chan. The next year, she also met Andros, Karone, and Zhane. Those last three came from somewhere far away. Although they had no accents, they had different customs (like having no last names).

Lori was really close to these people, who were all in their late teens when she first met them several years ago. For her seventh birthday, Zhane became her god-brother. However, on her 11th birthday, Social Services transferred her (did I mention Lori was an orphan with no idea who her parents were?) to Blue Bay Harbor. There, she met another gang of friends: Shane Clarke, Tori Hanson, Dustin Brooks, Cameron Watanabe, and Hunter and Blake Bradley. Those guys are in their early twenties and Dustin, Hunter, and Blake work at a local extreme sports store called Storm Chargers. The three of them rode dirt bikes while Shane was a skate border, Tori was a surfer, and Cam, a computer whiz. Lori learned to master each of her new friends' hobbies here, at Blue Bay Harbor, like back in Angel Grove where she played soccer with Adam, Carlos and Justin, baseball with TJ, sang with Tanya and Cassie, too bad she wasn't old enough to race with Tommy (and sometimes Justin, but the latter usually just fixes the cars). But Tommy became Lori's god-father on her 12th birthday and invited her to go live with him in Reefside.

"Hey kid, aren't you in the wrong place?" asked a tall white guy sitting across from her. Lori looked him up and down and knew at once what he was: a jock. She pondered about saying something back, knew better than to get herself into the would-be mess, so she adopted an innocent look and just shook her head.

The bell rang and the students slowly filling up the classroom. Lori had fourth period science and was sitting as far back as possible on a stool at a black-topped counter, with lab equipment dividing the table horizontally in half to allow two sets of partners (four people) to sit there. Again, Lori sank as low as she could, placing her cheek on the cold plastic countertop, closing her eyes. Hopefully, the only thing she'll have to say in this class is "Here" when the teacher calls her name for attendance. She didn't even notice when the teacher stepped into the room and class began.

"Are you okay?"

Lori groaned silently in her mind when a voice broke into her withdrawn peace. She opened her eyes, head still down, and saw that a girl, a white one with long wavy brown hair, was bending her head to look at her.

"I'm fine," I grumbled, sitting up.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"You're eyes are really red," she noticed

"I'm albino," Lori retorted.

"But your hair's super black."

"I dyed it," Lori lied.

"Can you do that?"

"I did, didn't I?"

"You seem a little…crabby are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine!" Lori was getting irritated now.

"A--"

"She's fine!" a black guy sitting across from her hissed over. "Let it go!"

"What's going on over here?"

"Dr. O!" The three teenagers sitting at the table gasped, the girl turned around and the guys looked up to see the teacher that was standing behind the girls. "We were just, uh…."

"Why aren't you guys working?" the man asked.

"We were!" the black guy insisted. "But then Kira started--"

"Hey!" the girl exclaimed.

"Okay guys, just get started," the teacher said.

"Yes, Dr. O," the three teens chorused.

Then it was Lori's turn to gasp, shocking her tablemates a little bit.

"Tommy!" she cried, spinning around in her seat.

"Lori!" the teacher replied.

Lori had to admit, she was pretty surprised when she saw her teacher. He was a man in his late twenties. He wore thin glasses and his hair was gelled up into spikes, a thin line of facial hair divided his chin vertically in half.

"Tommy? Wh – you – I can barely recognize you!" the little girl exclaimed.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," said the man. "I thought you had refused my invitation."

"Are you kidding me?" asked Lori. "You got me out of Social Services…even Santa Claus couldn't do that!"

They both laughed. The three teens stared at the two of them, confused.

"What…?" the white guy began to ask.

"Lori, these guys are Connor McKnight, Ethan James, and Kira Ford. Guys, this is my new god-daughter, Lori Kellen," Tommy introduced.

Lori and the others exchanged greetings, which was always how Lori got her friends. She went to lunch with Connor, Ethan, and Kira. She was right; Connor was a jock, a soccer jock. Ethan was a video gamer, and Kira, a musician. It was kind of hard to believe that these three had anything in common, but you had to have _some _shared interest to become friends, right?

"What do you guys think of Dr. O's kid?" Connor asked his friends that afternoon after school. The three of them were seated at their usual spot at Hayley's Cyberspace, Reefside's local hangout for teens. It was everything its name was. It was a cyber café, nothing simpler than that. Coming in from the double doors, on the left was a small stage, and on the left was a red couch for those to watch the TV facing the big window behind the couch. In between were the little round metal tables that could seat around four people. Directly across from the entrance were double doors leading to the back kitchen and next to those was the bar (of course, it sold no alcohol).

"She's not his kid," Ethan pointed out. "He's her god-father."

"Whatever, she's gonna be around anyways," the soccer player said, shaking his head.

"I don't really understand why he suddenly decided to bring a little kid into the middle of everything that's going on," Kira said, sipping her drink. She leaned in and lowered her voice, "I mean, especially with…Mesogog and his goons terrorizing the city."

"I know," Ethan agreed. "I don't understand it either. How's he going to take care of the girl of he's always out fighting a crazy dinosaur from turning the Earth back to the prehistoric ages?"

"Finally, something Brainiac doesn't understand," Connor said sarcastically. His friends shot him looks of disapproval. "I'm kidding!" he cried. Then he grabbed the waiter that was walking by with an empty tray. "Trent, what do you think about the new girl?"

The Latino teen wearing white on white stopped and leaned to answer in hushed tones, "Look, Dr. O knows what he's doing. If he thinks now is a good time to bring a kid in, then it's a good time." Then he straightened up and walked away, going back to work.

"Kiss up," Connor muttered, shaking his head as he turned back to Ethan and Kira.

The owner of Hayley's Cyberspace (as you can guess from the name) Hayley, walked up to the counter next to them. "He's right, you know," she said.

"So how was your trip?" Tommy asked Lori after giving her the tour of his house.

Lori plopped down on the bed that was to be hers, staring up at the ceiling. "Okay, I guess," she shrugged.

"How did you get here from Blue Bay Harbor?"

"My friends got me a bike."

"A bike? You rode a bike all the way here?"

"It was a motorbike."

"Where'd your friends get the money to buy you a motorbike?"

"I never said they bought it."

Tommy looked horrified. Lori laughed and propped herself up on her left elbow. "Relax Tommy, they built it."

"Built?"

"Yeah. Three out of my six friends in Blue Bay Harbor are motocross riders. They fixed up an old bike and gave it to me…as a goodbye present."

"That's nice of them."

Lori nodded. "They're really nice," she agreed.

Tommy smiled. "So how was your first day of school?"

Lori groaned and dropped back down on the bed. Tommy laughed.

It didn't take Lori very long to settle down. Tommy had given her, her own room (complete with a TV, computer, and stereo), her own bathroom across the hall, and basically access to the whole house, except for his room of course. Lori didn't care if he had confined her to the limits of her room. She had already been given a lot more than she had dreamed. After 12 years of living in a group home, she would've been glad just to have a room to call her own, whether it even had a bed in it or not.

At school, she also soon got acquainted. She had four new friends: Connor McKnight, Ethan James, Kira Ford, and Trent Fernandez-Mercer. They were all seniors and did well with helping her out whenever she needed (especially in the bullying department). Lori went to the school counselor and moved her classes up to senior classes to match her level. She smiled when Mr. Elliot handed her new schedule. Now, she was a 12-year-old senior. She had surpassed Justin…just as the student always surpasses the teacher.

After school, Lori went to Cyberspace with the others. She finished her homework quickly and was once again, out looking for a new leisure pursuit. She chose Trent as her new target. He was the only one who had a hobby she wasn't very familiar with: drawing. She had done soccer with Justin, Adam and Carlos, did the musical thing with Tanya and Cassie, and the computer thing with both Justin _and_ Cam. Drawing was the one thing she hadn't attempted yet.

"How do you draw her if she keeps moving?" Lori asked one Saturday afternoon while sitting in Cyberspace next to Trent, sketching in a notebook. Kira and her band were on stage performing a song that she wrote and she was posing as their subject.

Trent looked up from his own sketch and peered over at his apprentice's. "It's not _that_ bad," he said encouragingly.

Lori stared down at her paper, covered with smudges and paper crinkled from all the erasing, then over at her master's. "Mine's horrible, I suck as drawing," she pouted, throwing down her pencil.

"Come on, you can't give up that easily," Trent said, picking up the pencil and handing it back to her. "Drawing can't be harder than skateboarding or motocross, right?"

"Do _you _skateboard or race?" Lori asked hopefully.

"No."

Heaving a heavy sigh, Lori grudgingly grabbed the pencil and started over on a clean page. Trent smiled and went back to his own drawing, his pencil flying rapidly all over the paper. Suddenly, there was a beep that made them all jump in shock.

"What was that?!" Lori demanded.

"Uh…nothing!" Trent replied, his right hand quickly hold his left wrist. "Go back to drawing."

"But Kira left!" Lori said, pointing up to the empty lone mike stand.

"Draw from your memory, that's how you do it when your subject is moving. Draw from you memory!"

"Are you okay?" Lori asked. "You seem kind of…tense."

"No, I'm fine!" Trent said, his eyes darting this way and that. Lori could almost see beads of sweat rolling off his face. "I gotta go. Keep drawing!"

"O…_kay_," Lori said, but Trent was already out the door. She looked around the café, Connor, Ethan, and Kira were gone as well. _Weird_, she thought, but Lori shook her head and went back to her drawing, brow furrowed and tongue sticking out the corner of her mouth in concentration.

Around the corner, the four teens checked both ways to make sure no one was around.

"Ready?" Connor asked when they were satisfied.

"Ready," the others nodded.

"Dino Thunder, Power Up!" cried Connor, Ethan, and Kira.

"White Ranger, Dino Thunder," summoned Trent.

Their cuff-like Dino Plates with their Dino Gems set in the middle turned into a wrist-mounted morpher in the shape of a dinosaur head. With a flash, the four of them transformed, dashing out of the alley to fight evil as…the Dino Thunder Power Rangers!

* * *

That's the first chapter. Nothing's really happened yet. What do you think? Should I keep posting or just delete it? 


	2. Chapter 2

Son of War

A/N: I changed the timeline up a little, but hey, if it's fanfiction, then its AU anyways.

Disclaimer: Anything you can google is not mine.

Chapter 2 – Rangers of the Past

Weeks past as Lori got to know the others better, becoming as close to them as she was to her old friends in Blue Bay Harbor and Angel Grove…well, almost as close, she still missed the others a lot and constantly wished she was able to see them. As the days went on, Lori also noticed weird things happening. Monsters appearing out of nowhere to attack the city, mysterious superheroes dressed in assorted colors fighting them off. That seemed to happen wherever she went. And wherever she went, whatever town she was in, her friends always seem to disappear at the strangest times…usually around when the monsters showed up. But Lori had a good sense in judging people and never even thought that her friends could be somehow connected to those monsters. However, there was one person who seemed to have disappeared for a long time.

"Hey you guys," Lori said one day as she and her friends walked her home. "Have you seen Tommy?"

"No, why?" Kira asked.

"He's been missing for a while now," Lori replied. "I'm getting worried about him. Hayley's been coming over to make sure I'm all right; she says Tommy's on a trip out of town, but I can't get any hold of him."

"Maybe he's in a remote place," Ethan suggested. "Like the Himalayas, where you can't get cell phone receptions."

"He's in the Himalayas?" Lori asked.

"We don't know where he is," Trent told her. "That was just an example," he added, glaring at Ethan, but Lori didn't notice.

"What if he doesn't come back?"

"He'll be back."

"How do you know?"

"I know."

"Hmmm…" Lori murmured, unsatisfied. "I'm scared."

"Don't worry," Connor said. "If you need anything, just call us and we'll be here."

"Thanks guys."

"No problem." The tall guy patted her on the shoulder before he and the other teens left the house.

"You think maybe we should tell her?" Kira asked quietly, looking back over her shoulder to see the little girl sadly close the front door.

"Are you crazy?" Connor replied. "What are we supposed to say? That we're all Power Rangers and her god-father got stuck being invisible and have been staying in a cave under the house the whole time? You'd think she'd believe us?"

"I dunno," Ethan shrugged. "She is a little kid after all."

"She's a 12-year-old high school senior, not your average little kid," Trent pointed out.

"So we just keep lying to her?" Kira asked.

"We lie to everybody else," Connor shrugged. "No one can know our secret. No one can know we're the Power Rangers!"

**Ding Dong!**

_Who could that be?_ Lori wondered as she hurried to answer the door. She was too short to see through the peephole, even on her tip-toes, so she didn't bother to try. Lori made sure the small chain bolt was secure before opening the door just a crack.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

The people who had rung the doorbell, three men and two women in their thirties or so dressed in black leather, saw her at once. The way they glared down at Lori made her bite her bottom lip nervously.

"Yes," said the man standing in the front. He wore a small loop earring on his left ear and a plain red t-shirt under his unbuttoned leather jacket. His eyes were as black as his coal and piercing as a needle. He was obviously the leader of this group. "We're looking for someone that lives here, perhaps you know her?"

"Wh-who is it?" Lori asked nervously. She couldn't help from stuttering under this man's intimidating glower.

"Her name is Mallory. She about your age, and your size, jet black hair…" he leaned down to level with Lori "…and has deep red eyes."

Lori managed to suppress a sharp gasp. The man had just described her. But who were these people and why were they after her? Lori didn't intend to find out.

"Oh, yeah, you mean Mal. She's in the bathroom, let me go get her." Lori was a great liar. You kind of have to be when you've lived in the ghetto before. Gangsters were the ones that she feared more than even the alien monsters she seen attacking the city. Quickly, she closed the door and hastily tried to think of a place to hide.

Lori quickly glanced at her watch: 4:30. It would be at least three hours 'til Hayley would come to make her dinner. But if those guys were really gangsters after her, it would be less than three minutes before the ram down the door and hunt her down. She'll have to do this swiftly. Hastily, she scrambled up to her room, throwing open her window. Luckily, her room faced the backside of the house. As quietly as possible, she climbed out of the window, hooked her leg over the limb of the tree outside and slid down, landing softly in a pile of orange-brown leaves. Looking both ways she stealthily ran out into the woods, knowing that it would a lot easier to lose those people in there than run around the open city.

Lori wasn't at all familiar with the woods by her new home, she had never even been in there, Tommy had advised her against it, but she was desperate. She ran as hard as she could, deeper and deeper into the maze of leafless trees in hope to get as far away as possible from the people who were after her. Lori didn't even know who they could've been. Only her friends and the Social Services people knew about her move to Reefside, and those guys were definitely not from Social Services.

Lost in her thoughts, Lori barely had time to cry out when she found she had stepped into a sinkhole. She handed face down with a thud. She groaned and gradually opened her eyes. It took a while for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. When she could see properly, Lori slowly got up to her feet, wincing in pain as she dusted herself off. She looked around slowly, taking in her surroundings. She seemed to be in the middle of some kind of underground tunnel. Still breathing heavily, Lori decided to move on. She kept a hand on the rough wall as she walked deeper into the caverns, away from the little light that shone through the part of the ceiling she had broken when she fell through.

"Whoa!" Lori gasped when she came to the end of the tunnel, "No way!" A whole dinosaur skeleton seemed to be glued on the wall. Hesitantly, she reached forward to touch it, hands shaking.

A collective gasp greeted Lori when she tumbled in. Four people whipped around to find her sprawled on the ground. Lori straightened up, managing not to fall this time (for the sake of her battered body from falling the ten feet through the sinkhole). She looked up to see Hayley, Kira, Ethan, and Connor, surrounding…

"Tommy!" Lori cried, running over to the table her god-father was lying on. He had a pillow and a gray blanket that covered his stomach, with two wires attached to his chest. He seemed to be breathing, barely, and his eyes were closed. Lori whirled around to confront the four, who had now assembled in a line behind her, waiting.

"What did you do to him?!" she yelled in anger, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Lori, listen to us--" Hayley began, but Lori cut her off.

"What is this place? Have you been keeping him down here this whole time? What--"

This time, Lori got interrupted.

"Calm down Lori, nothing's wrong with Dr. O," Connor said, grabbing the little girl by her shoulders.

"Are you sure about that?" Ethan asked.

Kira glared at him. "Not helping," she hissed.

"Ethan's right," Hayley said. "We're not sure if Tommy's okay. We better get him to a hospital."

"Not until you tell me what's going on!" Lori demanded.

"Lori, Tommy may be in risk," Hayley tried to persuade her. "His life may be in danger."

"His life may be in danger with you for all I know," Lori shot back hotly. "Tell me now."

"Lori…"

"Now!"

"Be reasonable! I understand you have tons of questions, and I promise you I'll answer as much of them as I can, but _after_ we get Tommy the care he needs. Here, this is Tommy's video diary. Watch this and you'll know everything," Hayley added after Lori's hesitation, handing the glowering little girl a disk.

Lori was still heaving with this sudden unexplainable anger, but she heard Hayley's words. She took the disk, nodding. "Fine, go."

Lori went up to the main computer at the far end of the cave, slipping the disk into the hard drive. Tommy appeared on screen, sitting down. Lori recognized the background and realized this video diary had been filmed, right here in this underground lair.

"I'm Tommy Oliver," said the Tommy in the video. "If you're not me, then something is seriously wrong." And at once Lori was totally absorbed, not even noticing when and how the others had gotten the Tommy's body out of the cave. "This video diary is a confidential record, only to be viewed in the case of an emergency…"

When the video diary ended, Lori sank back in her seat. She didn't know how to respond as the screen went blank. Her god-father, her friends, from Angel Grove to Blue Bay Harbor, and even now in Reefside, all of them, they're all…Power Rangers! Even Justin, who was no older than she is now when he got his Turbo Powers! Now she knew why her friends were never around when monster were, because they were those superheroes in brightly-colored spandex battling to save the Earth. Lori shook her head, this was unbelievable.

Lori nearly fell off her seat when she heard the sudden beep. The alarm was ringing, she realized, when a battle scene filled the screen. She sat up, staring open-mouthed, shocked. Three Power Rangers were destroying the city! Eyes glued on the Red, Yellow, and Blue Rangers wreaking havoc downtown, Lori subconsciously reached for the small disk the size of a quarter that hung around her neck. She didn't notice it until it warmed, the little red light in the middle flashing as it beeped rapidly.

And suddenly, Lori remembered something. That guy, the one in the red shirt and black leather, she had seen him before. It was six years ago, when she still lived in Angel Grove, but she remembered him all right. Who could forget? He was with two others, another man who was a head taller than he was, dressed in all black, even the t-shirt under his black leather, with white-blonde hair that curled like an afro, one eye always closed as if it was missing, and a woman, her long blonde hair tied up in a bun, wearing yellow under her black. Lori would never forget that day because it had been the first time where she had gotten so beat up, she had to stay overnight in the hospital. She had seen those three first though, before she got beat up. Those people, their faces so dark and mean, that at the time, Lori wondered if they knew how to smile at all. But she didn't remember seeing the other two with them today, the man with the blue shirt and the woman in the pink. Lori is good at blending into the background, even if she was the only one there, she could make it look like she was nothing but a spider spinning her web in a corner. She had heard them talking as they trooped by her on her way back to the Little Angels Haven. They were looking for the Power Rangers. They were _hunting _the Power Rangers. But Lori wasn't a Power Ranger, so why did they show up here? Whatever the reason, one thing was for sure. They were definitely here for her.

**Beep…beep…beep!**

Silently, Lori slipped into the hospital room. Her god-father laid there in the bed, unmoving, almost dead. Tubes, wires, and machines were hooked up to him as he slept endlessly on. Lori almost smiled at his careful—and almost ironic—color choice of attire: his blanket was green; his gown was white, with a red collar. But the wave of sadness in seeing her friend and hero lying there like that would once again wash over her and that tiny grin was gone before it was fully stretched out.

"Tommy," she whispered, stopping at his side, gently reaching out and setting her small hand on his muscular forearm. "Please wake up."

Lori gasped sharply and whipped around when she heard the door open. A tall man entered. He was middle-aged and had graying hair, dressed in a sky-blue shirt with khaki-colored slacks and a black belt with a shiny buckle that caught the gleam of the florescent light hanging from the ceiling. He also wore a blue tie and a white doctor's coat.

"I'm sorry, did I startle you?" he said to the surprised little girl.

"No," Lori replied politely. "I'm fine, but what about my uncle…Dr. Walsh?"

The doctor smiled, glancing at the golden nametag pinned to his breast pocket. "You are Lori then, I presume?"

Lori looked at him, but said nothing.

Dr. Walsh chuckled. "Hayley told me you would be visiting soon." Lori kept her silence and the man continued. "Your godfather's vital signs are normal," he told her, flipping through the pages on his clipboard, "but his brain waves are out of control."

"What does that mean? Is he okay?"

Dr. Walsh shrugged and left the room after checking his patient's readings, leaving Lori even more frustrated than before as she turned back to her god-father. "Please Tommy, you can't give up."

While Lori was in the hospital room fighting back tears, Tommy was in a dream-like state, fighting his past Ranger selves. Now, he had been knocked down by the Green Mighty Morphing Ranger.

"Why don't you just give up the fight?" the Green Ranger demanded.

"That's the one thing I'll never do," Tommy replied angrily.

"Then I guess this is over," said the Green Ranger, preparing the final strike with the Dragon Dagger.

Tommy held his head high, bracing himself for the attack, but it didn't come. Instead, the Green Ranger offered him his hand.

"You've passed the test."

"Test? What are you talking about?" Tommy asked as he was pulled to his feet.

"You haven't been fight us," said the Zeo Ranger V—Red, walking up from behind the Green Ranger to join them. "You've been fighting for your life."

"And you've proven your will to live is stronger than any Ranger Power," added the White Mighty Morphing Ranger, flanking the Green Ranger's other side.

The three Rangers reached forward and held out their hands. In the middle of each of their white gloves was a tiny fragment of the Black Dino Gem.

"This is yours," said the Rangers. Tommy picked up the pieces. "Good luck Black Ranger…Ranger…Ranger…" it echoed they faded away.

"Tommy…."

Tommy's eyes flew open. Lori was the first thing he saw. There she was, standing there, her chin barely above the side of the bed. He saw his reflection in her red eyes as they lit up like a burning flame.

"Tommy!" she exclaimed, a grin spreading across her face.

"You're okay!" added Hayley, stepping up from behind the little girl when she heard her shout.

Tommy smiled back at them. "Yeah, never felt better," he replied, and turning his head he saw that in his clenched fist was his restored Dino Gem, glowing from its center.

Meanwhile, Connor, Ethan, and Kira were fighting the three Evil Rangers downtown. Keyword: were. The Evil Rangers were too powerful and the Dino Rangers got their butts kicked. They decided to return to the base to regroup.

"Dr. O!" they exclaimed when they saw their mentor sitting in front of the main computer when they entered the cave. "You're awake!"

Tommy nodded. "Let's skip to the battle," he said. His students agreed and told him of their fight.

"Why can't we just destroy them with our Dinozords?" Connor asked at the end of their tale.

"No!" Lori cried in horror.

"They were heroes who once fought for good," Tommy said. "We have to find another way."

"What other way?" Ethan asked. "They're too strong for us."

"Those Rangers you fought today," Lori said, "They were the Wind Rangers, the three primary Rangers of the Ninja Storm team. Tori, the Blue Ranger, wields the power of water, Shane, the Red Ranger, controls the power of air, and Dustin, the Yellow Ranger, holds the power of earth. They may not have been the most reliable of people, but they were probably the goofiest…" Lori smiled at the memories. "Something's happened to them now; I know they would never do this on their own will. They're my friends, and I want to help them return to normal."

"Lori, there's nothing you can do," Hayley said.

Lori looked at her. "Wrong," she said, pulling off her necklace. "You remember Cam Watanabe?"

"Yes. He was the technical expert for the Ninja Storm Rangers," Hayley answered, nodding. "He was even better at this stuff than I am."

"He was also the Green Samurai Ranger," Lori added. "A motorbike wasn't the only thing I got when I moved to Reefside. Before I left, Cam came to me and gave me this." She held up the disk for them all to see. "If anything happens, he said, all I had to do was press this button in the middle, and they'll be there, no matter what."

"You're going to call for him?" Kira guessed.

Lori shook her head. "I don't need to. A few hours ago, it beeped. He's calling for me—for us."

"What do we do?" Trent asked.

Lori looked at him and a slow grin crept across her face.

"Nothing."

* * *

Thank you GinaStar for reviewing and encouraging me to post this. There's 31 hits, someone's bound to have something to say, right? Like maybe a new title? I want to change it, but can't think of anything.

Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Son of War

Disclaimer: Anything you can google is not mine.

Chapter 3 – Prophecy

"Whoa, it says here that the Ninja Rangers defeated like hundreds of space mutants at one time," Ethan told his teammates from what he read on his laptop. He, Kira, and Connor were sitting at a table in Cyberspace.

"After fighting them, I believe it," Kira replied.

"Oh come on, they weren't _that _tough," Connor said. "I'd fight them right here, right now."

Then suddenly, the doors burst open and three people marched in. There were two guys and a girl, dressed in black ninja outfits. Their brows were furrowed, not because they were thinking too hard, but because they were supposed to look mean and evil. Each of them had different accents on their suits. The guy on the left had yellow (Dustin) and the girl on the right had a light blue (Tori). The guy in the middle had red accents (Shane) and he sent a blast of wind to blow Connor, Kira, and Ethan out of their seats.

"Can I get you anything?" Connor asked him angrily, "a donut or a maybe muffin?"

"I try to stay away from sugar," Shane replied. "It makes me hyper."

"Oh I'd hate to see him when he gets hyper," Ethan said.

"Get up!" Tori demanded. "We have some unfinished business to attend to."

"Dude, she's kinda cute, don't you think?" Connor replied as he and his teammates lined up in front of their counterparts of the other three.

"Yeah, in a crazed ninja-terminator sort of way," Ethan agreed.

Kira slapped Connor (who happened to be the one standing next to her) on the arm. "Would you two focus here?"

"Right," Connor said.

"Can we get on with this?" Shane asked, walking forward towards the three.

"We're not going to fight you here," Connor replied as he and his friends advanced as well.

"Then we'll just have to destroy you then."

"We'll meet wherever you want, but you come alone."

"Why should we agree to that?"

"It's called honor," Kira said. "I thought you ninjas knew all about that."

Shane glared over at her. The six of them glared at each other for a long time. "Fine," he finally said, "under the Hubbard Bridge, in one hour, the six of us, no one else."

"Fine, we'll be there," Connor replied.

And then the ninjas were gone, leaving nothing but a faint vein of their colors.

"Ninja streak?" Ethan chuckled, impressed. "Oh, how cool is that?!"

Connor and Kira looked disapprovingly at him, shaking their heads.

"Guys look," Hayley said. Lori and Tommy rushed to her side at the main computer.

"What is it?" Tommy asked.

"If these readings are right, there's a blanket covering the whole, originating from Blue Bay Harbor."

"Can you zoom in to where it's coming from?" Lori asked.

Hayley didn't answer, typing rapidly. A moment later something popped up on screen. It was a grassy field on the edge of a forest. A sinister purple light shot out from the huge gaping crack in the middle of the ground. She and Tommy gasped sharply at the sight. Lori's jaw tightened, her worries confirmed.

"The Abyss of Evil," she breathed.

"The Abyss of Evil?" the adults asked her.

"The Abyss of Evil is where the monsters go after they're destroyed. Last year, Lothor targeted Blue Bay Harbor because that was where it was located, just outside the city. He deliberately had his space aliens, destroyed so they would overload the Abyss and break it open. The Ninja Storm Rangers fought honorably against all the revived monsters, sending them back into the pit, but Lothor managed to steal their Ranger powers. When that happened, Tori, Shane, and Dustin used their inner-ninja powers to send him into the Abyss as well. Now it looks like the Abyss has been opened again; Lothor must've escaped. I'll bet anything he's got something to do with the Evil Wind Rangers.

"Lothor used to be Kiya Watanabe, the twin brother of Kanoi Watanabe, the Sensei and mentor of the Ninja Storm Rangers. It would be so easy for Lothor to disguise himself as Sensei and trick the Rangers. He's already done it twice with the Thunder Rangers, making them think that Sensei and the Wind Rangers were their sworn enemies, until their journey to the Cavern of Lost Souls and friendship freed them of Lothor's brainwashing."

"So is that what will be needed to awake the Wind Rangers from their current state?" Hayley asked.

"I don't know," Lori said. "I don't know what Lothor has done."

"I hope brainwashing is the only thing he's had time for," Tommy muttered.

An hour later, the Connor, Kira, and Ethan stood under the Hubbard Bridge.

"So if they use special powers, we use special powers," Connor was saying to the others. "If they morph, we morph, sound good?"

"Does to me," Kira answered

**Whoosh!**

And then they were knocked off their feet by a full gust—the ninjas had arrived.

"Man, do they have to keep doing that?" Kira asked as they got back up on their feet to face their opponents.

"Fools!" cried Shane. "You actually showed up."

And the battle began. It was red on red, guy on guy, girl on girl. All of them had special powers. The ninjas had their control of their elements (air, water, and earth) and the Dinos had their powers from their Dino Gems. Shane used his power of air, flying and blasting out gusts of wind. Connor, in return used his super speed. Tori used her power of water, shooting blasts of water only to be deflected by Kira's Ptera-scream. And Dustin used his power of earth, tunneling and disappearing underground, popping up behind Ethan, who protected himself with his Dino-skin. The battle was on!

Lori was running as fast as her short legs could carry her, racing for the Hubbard Bridge. Panting, she saw the battle from ahead. Oh no, she was too late!

From a distance, she saw Shane ask, "Shall we?"

"Oh yeah," replied Tori.

"No wait!"

The three ninjas froze before they morphed and looked over. Lori's head jerked over as well as she joined the three Dino Rangers (who greeted her silently). Three guys jumped the fence and were walking over towards the ninjas. One of them wore a black robe with green accents. Another wore a ninja outfit similar to the other ninjas, but had crimson accents. The third however, was dressed in civilian clothes: a jean jacket, t-shirt, jeans—hang on…

"Wait a minute, Blake?" Kira realized. "That's how I know you, you're a Power Ranger!"

For a split second, Lori wondered how Kira knew Blake at all.

"Good, 'cause we could use all the help we can get," Ethan said.

"We're not here to help you guys out," Blake replied as he and his company turned and stood in front of the evil ninjas, facing the three Dino Rangers. "We stick with our own kind."

"Lothor has shown us the error of our ways," added the big white guy (even taller and broader than Connor) dressed in the crimson-accented ninja suit. Lori recognized him at once: Hunter Bradley, Blake's brother.

"Whoever doesn't follow us, we'll destroy," added the Asian one in glasses, his long black robe flowing in the wind—Cam.

"This is going to be great!" Dustin said, clapping his hands.

"Wait, first you have to take these," said Cam, holding out three Power Disks for the three evil ninjas. "A little power boost, direct from the Abyss of Evil."

Connor, Kira, and Ethan were a little surprised, but they pulled themselves together and started forward to try to stop their opponents from getting even more power. Lori put a hand out to stop them; she knew something they didn't. She knew who the three newcomers that jumped the fence were. Connor, Kira, and Ethan looked down at the little girl with raised eyebrows, but her set face told them she knew what she was doing, so they froze in their steps and watched.

"But we already have our powers," Tori was saying said.

"Not these ones," objected Hunter.

"You better be right about this," Shane said, taking his own.

"Believe me, you won't be sorry," Cam said. Tori and Dustin took their own Power Disks and the three evil ninjas flicked off the ones that were on their morphers, putting the new ones in its place. When they attempted to morph, an energy bolt (in their own color) hit them and they fell back.

"Oh dude, what happened?" Dustin asked as Hunter pulled him up. "Ah, my bell is seriously rung!"

Lori let go of the breath she didn't realize she was holding. A relieved smile spread across her face. They were back! Leading the Dino Rangers, Lori went over to the six ninjas. "Shane, Tori Dustin!" she cried, "are you guys okay?"

"Lori?!" the three asked.

"Hunter, Cam," Kellen said, acknowledging the two newcomers the Dino Rangers did not know. "Blake," she added with a nod.

"How did we get here?" Tori asked. "The last thing I remember was--"

"Lothor," Blake answered, cutting her off. "He's back."

"Yeah, we know, Sensei told us," Shane said.

"That wasn't Sensei," Hunter told him.

"No dude, I know Sensei when I see him," Dustin said.

"No, it's Lothor," Blake insisted.

"Okay, unless it was Lothor dressed _as_ Sensei, huh?"

"Okay, this is all highly amusing," Connor said, cutting in, "but does someone want to tell me what's going on?"

"Let's get back first," Lori said. "I think Tommy would want to hear this."

The others agreed and they headed back to the base.

"Welcome to the Dino Lab," Lori said to the Ninja Rangers as they entered the cave.

"Dude, you guys totally copied off of us," Dustin said, shaking his head, "Underground, super high tech, secret entrance…"

Lori and her friends laughed. "That's Tommy," she said, leading them over to her god-father.

"It's an honor meet you, Rangers," Tommy said, standing up to greet them, shaking their heads. "This is my friend Hayley…and your friend, Sensei Watanabe."

After greeting were made, Hunter, Blake, and Cam told their story. After seeing the destruction the three Wind Ninjas had done, Cam reunited the Bradley brothers and they went to the Abyss of Evil to try to find their Powers. Only down there, they came across Lothor's right hand man (or alien or was he a cyborg?), Zurgane and a bunch of Kelzaks. Their fight ended with having Hunter and Blake dangling off the side of a cliff, Cam trying to hold on to them, but was slipping.

"We were about to fall inside, but Dad got there just in time," Cam was telling the others.

"We faked being on Lothor's side to get you to take your right Power Disks," Hunter said to Shane, Tori, and Dustin.

"It's a good thing you guys showed up when you did," Connor said to Hunter, Blake, and Cam.

"Good thing for you guys," Shane said.

They all laughed.

"Whatever, dude," Connor said.

"I'm just playing man, you guys fight like rock stars," Shane replied.

"I, for one, will take that as a compliment," Kira said. Trent smiled. Cam and Lori exchanged amused looks while Dustin and Ethan tapped fists.

"We're glad you here, but it's time to get down to business," Tommy said, interrupting the laughter.

"Tommy is right," Sensei said, standing up. "We have a serious problem on our hands."

"This could take all of us to defeat him."

The ten young Rangers smiled at each other, nodding. This was going to be good.

**Beep Beep Beep! Beep Beep Beep!**

The alarm on the main computer rang. The quarry came up on screen, loaded with Tyrannodrones, Triptoids, Kelzaks, all the foot soldiers, plus a couple generals.

"We got company," Hayley said as everyone crowded around the computer.

"It's time," Tommy said. "Let's show them what teamwork is really all about."

The eleven Power Rangers ran all the way to the quarry, leaving Lori, Hayley, and Sensei at the Lab, watching from the main computer. The Rangers stopped on a ledge and looked down on the army of monsters led by Elsa and Zurgane.

"Get ready," Elsa was telling her monsters.

"It is time," Zurgane said when he saw the Rangers arrive.

"Let's be careful," Tommy said. "But let's get it done."

"Are you guys ready?" Connor asked.

"Ready!" the others answered.

"Dino Thunder, Power Up!" called Connor, Kira, Ethan, and Tommy.

"White Ranger, Dino Power!" summoned Trent.

"Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!" cried Shane, Tori, and Dustin.

"Thunder Storm, Ranger Form!" yelled Hunter and Blake.

"Samurai Storm, Ranger Form!" said Cam.

"Ha! Ha!" echoed from the two teams.

"Tyranno!"

"Tricera!"

"Ptera!"

"Brachio!"

"Drago!"

"Dino Thunder!" cried the Dino Rangers.

"Power of Air!"

"Power of Water!"

"Power of Earth!"

"Crimson Thunder!"

"Navy Thunder!"

"Samurai Power!"

"Ninja Storm!" cried the Ninja Rangers.

The eleven of them jumped down to the ditch. "Ranger Power!"

Elsa drew her sword. "Ah!" she cried, leading her army in charging at the Power Rangers.

"Kick it!" Connor shouted.

The Rangers themselves charged back at the villains. The six main Rangers in primary colors each hopped onto their motorcycles (Raptor Cycles for the Dino Rangers, Tsunami Cycles for the Wind Rangers). The Black and White Rangers jumped on their ATVs, Cam riding on the back of Trent's. The Thunder Rangers didn't care to ride, just ran to their opponents, Thunder Staffs in hand.

Connor and Shane teamed up on two monsters (Lothor's bodyguards), Ethan and Dustin did the same against other generals. Girls fought girls, Kira and Tori teamed up on Elsa. Blake and Hunter fought Zurgane with a little help from Tommy. Trent and Cam battled the Wolf Blades. All weapons were pulled out, from the Ninja Swords to the Thunder Shields; the Tricera Shield, Brachio Staff, Crimson Blaster, Navy Antler, Samurai Saber, Drago Sword, basically every Ranger's personal weapon as well as their primary standard ones.

As the fight went on, power ups were called upon. The Dino Rangers went into Super Dino Mode. Cam had his Super Samurai Mode. Connor called the Triassic Ranger while Ethan used his Hovercraft Cycle. The two Red Rangers then morphed into their Battlelizers and shot down the final monsters.

"Nice move you guys," Connor said.

"Back at you, bro," Shane replied, clasping Connor's hand.

"All right!"

"Yeah!"

"Huh?" all the Rangers asked when they saw the green flash from the sky and two girls showed up. The Ninja Rangers recognized them immediately. Kapri and Marah, the bumbling nieces of Lothor and cousins of Cam. They used to be evil, but were now on the side of good.

"Oh hey guys!" the two of them exclaimed as they ran over to the Rangers. "Hey Cam!"

The Green Samurai Ranger walked up to greet them. "What are you doing here?"

"Is that anyway to treat family?" Kapri asked.

"Yeah," Marah added, "especially since we brought you a present." She showed them a bottle she was holding. "Check this out." Marah uncorked the bottle and a red-purplish smoke came out. It flew up and landed behind the Rangers.

"It's our students!" Shane exclaimed.

Kapri and Marah looked at each other. "Now," they nodded and threw off their evil space alien outfits, revealing them in ninja suits accented with pink for Kapri and orange for Marah.

Shane and the other Rangers ran over to check on the ninjas-in-training. "Everybody okay?" the leader asked.

Cam walked over to Kapri and Marah, who put their arms on his shoulders and leaned against him.

"You didn't think we really went bad," Marah said. "We were just pretending."

"Again?" Cam asked.

"Yeah well, we're slow learners," Kapri answered.

From the Lab, Lori smirked. It was nice to see her old friends team up with her new ones. She may not have been in battle, but she knew she was a part of it all and that made her feel good. She _can _make a difference.

"So when are you guys leaving?" Connor asked the Ninja Storm Rangers as they held a celebration lunch party at Cyberspace in honor of their recent victory and Blake's big win at the race.

"Not for a while."

Everyone whipped around in shock. Hayley had closed the café so the Rangers didn't have to worry about their identities; so who was this new guy? Lori was the only one to recognize the stranger immediately.

"Justin!" she exclaimed, running over to him at once, jumping into his open arms. The teen picked her up and gave her a tight bear hug, laughing happily to see his friend again.

"It's good to see you too, Lori," he said when he finally set her back down. "I see you've been busy since you left Angel Grove."

"I take it, with you being here now, that I could say the same about you."

"Well…" Justin shrugged. "I _did _bring along some old friends." He stepped aside to reveal some people that Lori couldn't be any happier to see.

"I can't believe you're all here in the same place!" Lori cried, greeting them. "Andros, Ashley, TJ, Carlos, Cassie!"

"Hey, what about me?"

"Zhane!" the little girl wrapped her arms around the guy, her face buried in his stomach, hiding her wide smile of joy, which stretched from ear to ear.

"Andros," Lori heard Tommy said, shaking his hand. "It's good to see you again."

"I don't know if I can say the same to you," replied the guy with long hair, striped with blonde and brown.

"I take it you're not here on vacation then."

"I wish." He paused; looking around at the room full of people who had suddenly stopped doing whatever they had been doing and staring quietly at the seven newcomers.

"It's okay," Tommy told him. "These are the Ninja Storm Rangers, and the Dino Thunder Rangers, they're all friends."

The newcomers tensed a little, eyeing the little girl that was now standing next to Zhane, his hands on her shoulders.

"Lori knows as well," Tommy added.

"You told her?" Justin asked in surprise.

Tommy turned to him. "Justin," he smiled. "I haven't seen you in a long time. You've grown."

"It's been seven years, Tommy," Justin replied.

"And do you remember what we told you about your identity as a Ranger when you first became one?"

Justin grinned, remembering, and recited, "It's for me to know and them to find out."

"That's right," Tommy said, clapping the teen on his shoulder. "You of all people should know how bright Lori is."

Justin nodded, chuckling.

"I can't believe you guys didn't tell me you were the Power Rangers," Lori said to her oldest friends. "I could've helped you so much."

"We're the Space Rangers, we were in space all the time," Cassie said.

"Yeah, and it was way too dangerous. You were six years old when we were Earth's defenders," Ashley added. "What could you have done? There were people—monsters, hunting us from all over the galaxy."

"Hunt!" Lori gasped, suddenly remembering. Her face was suddenly very serious now. "Do you guys remember any humans that hunted you? They wore black leather, shirts inside that matched your Ranger colors?"

"I don't remember any _humans_ that wanted to destroy us," TJ said thoughtfully.

"Are you sure?" Lori pressed.

"Why do you want to know, Lori?" Carlos asked.

"This is important!"

Then the girls gasped. "The Psychos!" they exclaimed, remembering.

"Psychos?" Lori and the new Rangers asked.

"Yes. The Psycho Rangers were Astronema's team of Evil Rangers," Cassie answered. "They had the power to morph into human form. I remember there was that one time, when there were just the three of them left, and they scoured the city looking for us. We couldn't speak 'cause they recognized our voices, we couldn't use our morphers or communicators because they already knew those sounds."

"Yes! And they almost had you, Cassie," Carlos agreed, nodding, "until Zhane dressed up as a clown and with tricked them with a voice recording."

"The Psycho Rangers," Lori muttered.

"Are you okay, Aeron?" Zhane asked quietly in her ear.

"Were the Psycho Rangers destroyed?" Lori asked the Space Rangers.

"When we fought them on Earth, they were digitized. Later, we fought them again on Terra Venture with the Galaxy Rangers, and yes, I think we destroyed them," Andros said.

"Lori, do you know something we don't?" Tommy asked, his tone warning her that she better spill it.

"I…I…The day I found the Lab, I fell into a sinkhole in the woods and wandered the caverns, leading me to the dinosaur skeleton that triggered the hidden entrance, but I wasn't there by accident. After Connor, Ethan, Kira, and Trent walked me home, a group of people rang the doorbell. There were five of them, wearing red, blue, black, yellow, and pink under black leather. They were looking for someone named Mallory, and the way they described her, she looks exactly like me…right down to the red eyes."

"And you think those were the Psychos?" Andros asked.

"I'm pretty sure," Lori nodded.

"And I'm pretty sure we destroyed those freaks," TJ said.

"So am I," Carlos said. "But maybe we should keep an eye out for them, just in case."

"Good idea," Cassie agreed, nodding.

"Let's get back to the point," Tommy said. "You didn't come here on vacation, so why did you come here?"

"Alpha said there's a large evil here, in Reefside," Andros answered. "We came to check it out."

"No worries," Shane said. "It was Lothor and his goons. They escaped the Abyss of Evil, but we've put them back where they belong."

"Yeah!" the others still sitting around the tables cheered. The Space Rangers looked at each other, then at Tommy and Lori with raised eyebrows in confusion.

"Never heard of it," Carlos said.

"No idea what you're talking about," Ashley said.

"No," Justin said. "The evil that brought us here is a lot bigger. He's still out there…somewhere."

"Do you know who or what it is?" Cam asked.

Justin nodded grimly. "Maligore."

"Maligore?!" Tommy gasped. "No!"

"Who's Maligore?" Connor asked.

"Maligore is a super powerful monster, so powerful he was imprisoned away in the volcano of the Serpent Temple on the Lost Island of Muiranthias in the Nemesis Triangle (a parallel dimension in the middle of the Pacific Ocean) by the Liarian wizard, Lerigot," Tommy told them. "Almost eight years ago, a space pirate named Divatox tried to capture Lerigot, and use his Golden Key to pass through the Nemesis Triangle and free Maligore. Lerigot fled to Earth, to seek his friend, Alpha 5. However, Divatox captured Lerigot's family, forcing him to give himself up. That was when Zordon gave us our Turbo Powers, and Justin joined the team, taking the place of Rocky, who had injured his back practicing for a martial arts tournament."

"With the Turbozords, we boarded the phantom ship, the Ghost Galleon, and sailed towards the Nemesis Triangle, our Turbo keys allowing us to pass safely just as Lerigot's Golden Key allowed Divatox's submarine to do the same," Justin said, taking up the story. "On Muiranthias, we became too late to stop Divatox from freeing Maligore from the Pit of Eternal Fire. However, we were able to form the Turbo Megazord and defeat the dubbed 'Great Flame of Destruction."

"Maligore is also the brother of Dark Specter," Andros added. "Dark Specter was the grand monarch of evil, the head of the United Alliances of Evil, until Darkonda stole the Super-Torpedo (a missile with the power to destroy an entire planet with one shot) and destroyed him. Zordon's energy wave may have destroyed every villain in the UAE, but with Maligore's reputation and power, it would be no problem for him to assemble his own army."

"Where is he now? We have to stop him before he finds an army!" Hunter said.

"Too late," Lori said. "The Abyss of Evil is wide open. Lothor's gone; Maligore can have total control of all those monsters now."

"She's right," Justin agreed grimly.

"Then what can we do?" Trent asked.

"We fight," Lori shrugged. "What else is there to do?"

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one who has to go out there," Blake said.

"It's not my fault I'm not a Ranger," Lori replied. "I've always wanted to be one."

"Actually," TJ began, but several icy glares from the older Rangers shut him up.

"What?" Lori asked him.

"Uh, nothing," he said, "never mind."

Lori gave him a confused look. She hated when people don't say what they're really thinking. The uncomfortable silence dragged on.

"Some celebration this turned out to be," Kira muttered, trying to lighten the mood. Several people snickered, Lori wasn't one of them.

"Maligore's going to attack Earth, that's for sure," Justin said. "The question is: how are we going to stop him?"

"Isn't there strength in numbers?" Tori asked. "Can't we just rally up all the past Rangers? Surely with all the Power Rangers, we can defeat him together."

"But the problem is, not every Ranger still have their powers," Hayley said.

"Then this is it?" Ethan asked. "We don't even get a chance?"

"There's always a chance, Ethan," Tommy said. "As long as there is one ounce of good in one person, there's a chance."

"I think it's time," Zhane said suddenly. Everyone turned to stare at him. He turned to Andros, then Tommy. "I think this is it."

The two team leaders nodded in agreement. "You're right."

"What's he right about?" Lori demanded at once. "What's going on?"

Andros sighed. "There's a story that every kid on KO-35 knows. A monster rises up from the lava, from an eruption of a volcano, and seizes the planet, ruling it in tyranny. A small child finally fed up, steps forward and defeat this monster, freeing the civilians and rebuilding paradise."

"How's a bedtime story supposed to help us?" Connor asked.

"That's what we thought it was, a bedtime story," Andros agreed, "until Zordon told us it was true."

"Zordon?" Justin asked.

Zhane nodded. "We have to find that boy, and fast."

"Boy?" Sensei asked. "How do you know it is a boy?"

"Because the prophecy goes: _War is destined to destroy Earth, until one can be unearthed; magnetic, assisting, and always kind, that is the one you must find. Evil and sin, tolerating none, that shall be the Chosen One; that shall be the Son_."

"Where can we find this…_Son_?" Cam asked.

"That's the thing Zordon _didn't _tell us," Andros said.

"We'll find him," Lori said confidently. The others looked at her. She nodded. "We just have to believe."

* * *

I tried to keep it as close to the episode as possible, but if there are any mistakes, oh well!

Again, thanks GinaStar for reviewing. At least I know _someone _actually reads it.

Is it because my title sucks? Or my summary? Is that why no one is reading my story? At least give me a yes or a no. Please review! It can't possibly take any longer than actually reading the chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

Son of War

Disclaimer: Anything you can google is not mine.

Chapter 4 – Briarwood

Now that the Space Rangers were here also, Lori found that she did have a lot of friends after all. With all her friends around her, Lori felt more at home than she ever felt in any other place she's ever lived in. But at this point, it wasn't time to rejoice and enjoy life. It was time to whack your brains and try to figure out a way to save the Earth so you can have a future to rejoice and enjoy life. And whack her brain, Lori did. She whack so hard, she probably lost a couple IQ points, but still, she had no clue in finding out who this _Son _was, or where they could find him.

"Lori, I know we're in sort of a bind here, but don't try too hard," Trent said one day during their drawing session. Tommy had suggested that while they were trying to solve this puzzle, the teens should go back to living their normal lives and that they'll be called on if they were needed. "It wouldn't make things any better if you killed yourself trying to figure this thing out."

"If I die but figure it out, then I've died for a good purpose," Lori said, crumpling the piece of paper in front of her in frustration and tossing it back into the trash without looking.

"Nice shot," Justin said, walking up from behind them and sitting down.

"I want a nice shot with the puzzle," Lori replied, glancing up at Kira playing the guitar, her object today. Trent filled Justin in of their conversation as Lori continued with her sketch, trying to cheat off of Trent's paper, which doesn't really work when it comes to drawing.

Justin put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. "I think maybe you should take some time away from this whole prophecy thing," he said.

"What else can I think about in a time like this?" Lori asked him.

"How 'bout yourself?"

"What about myself?"

"Do you know why Tommy brought you here to live with him, even in the middle of all that was happening with Mesogog?"

"No."

"He wants to adopt you."

That caught Lori off guard.

"What?!" she demanded, dropping her jaw and pencil.

"Yeah, he was talking to me about it. He brought you in now because he wanted to be sure that even with his Ranger duties he can still take care of you. But now that you're in on this, he's wondering whether or not he can provide a safe environment for you."

"I've never been safer than with him."

"I know that," Justin assured her. "But he doesn't."

"Hmm…." Lori murmured.

Just then, TJ came in and called Justin away. Trent looked at his young friend with a concerned look.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm just wondering what it would be like if Tommy did adopt me," she told him, resuming her sketch.

"Well, what was it like with your family before?" Trent asked.

Lori looked down. "I never had a family before," she said quietly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Trent said. "I didn't know."

Lori shook her head, but said nothing. Trent sighed.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm adopted too."

This made Lori look up at him. "You're adopted?" she asked, "By whom?"

"My father is Dr. Anton Mercer. You know? The guy that subbed for Dr. O when he was…"

"In the Himalayas?" Lori finished sarcastically. Trent laughed, remembering Ethan's lame excuse for their teacher's sudden disappearance. The truth was, Tommy had been stuck, unable to demorph for a while, and when then he ended up being invisible during one attempt to demorph him. When they tried to make him visible again, it worked, but it put him in a coma, in which he was rushed to the hospital and had to fight his past former Ranger selves for his life.

"My parents used to work for him, and when they disappeared during one of their digs, he took me in as his own," Trent continued. "He's a great guy, but he's not very supportive of my artistic endeavors."

"How do you know?" Lori asked him.

"I think his exact words were, 'Trent, I am in no way supportive of your artistic endeavors'."

Lori laughed and Trent joined her, nodding. "There you go. That's what a kid like you should be doing, laughing at jokes, hanging out with friends, having fun, not pulling your hair out trying to figure out some ancient prophecy."

"I never pulled my hair out," she objected.

"Right," Trent said, correcting himself. "You just knocked several IQ points out."

Lori laughed, and then sighed. "I guess you're right. I'm gonna go for a walk, get some fresh air."

Trent nodded approvingly. "That's right. It's a crime to keep a kid inside on a day like this."

Lori nodded, agreeing. "I'll see you later then."

"You don't need me to come with you?"

"Nah, I want to clear my mind."

"All right then," he nodded. "I'll see you later."

Lori smiled and waved, then left Cyberspace. She walked through the city, seeing other kids running and shouting, enjoying the sunshine. As much as she envied them, she realized that she could never have that, wherever she went, there will always be something she'd have to do, something she'd have to help with. But that was what she did best, helping. She wouldn't trade it for anything else. She loved helping her friends achieve what they needed. And it was what she enjoyed to do. Other kids may enjoy playing video games or sports or whatever, but she enjoyed helping others, it's just the way she is.

Absentmindedly, Lori wandered to the woods, and before she knew it, she had left behind the sounds of civilization, engulfed in the silence of nature, only broken by the chirps of birds and other animals living there, her footsteps muffled by the soft undergrowth. She smiled when she saw the sinkhole that had dropped her into all of this and carefully stepped around it. Now that she knew their secrets, Tommy showed her a much easier way to enter Dino Ops, using a passage in his house. With the sun high above her head, Lori walked deeper and deeper into the woods, deeper than anyone in Reefside had ever been. Only when she realized something was different, did she stop.

Lori inhaled sharply, looking around abruptly. Everything had suddenly changed. It was no longer warm and bright, instead it was a solemn grayish. The songs of birds and crickets could no longer be heard. The dead silence caused the hair on the back of Lori's neck to stand up. It gave her goose bumps; a shiver ran down her spine.

"Where am I?" she wondered, barely out loud. The trees were towering above her, taller than the ones she remembered in the woods bordering Reefside, slimmer too. Its limbs and branches looked arms, waving frantically in the air. However, what really had Lori wondering was that they were in the middle of winter, the branches of the trees in the woods were completely bare, these trees however, were full of leaves.

"This is so weird."

Lori whipped around. It was exactly what she had been wondering. But who had voiced her thoughts? She squinted in hopes to find that source of the voice. "Who's there?!" she demanded, her voice echoing in the seemingly-empty forest.

"Oh, this is not good!"

At once, Lori picked that up and zeroed in on it. She ran to the bushed and separated it, trying to see who was spying on her. As soon as she saw it, she wished she hadn't.

"Ahhh!!!" she screamed.

Behind the bush was a…Lori didn't know what it was. It might be a troll…or a goblin…or maybe he was just one really, _really_ ugly man. He wore a nasty goblin hat, with a huge nose, his face covered with so much hair Lori thought his facial hair was connected to the ones on his head. All in all, this…_thing_ was disgusting. Not just in appearance, he reeked as well.

It took a while, but finally, her legs obeyed and Lori ran, screaming at the top of her lungs, away from that creepy looking creature. Blindly, she ran, constantly looking over her shoulder to see if it was following her. Luckily, it wasn't. And they she tripped on a high root and started to roll…right through a tree!

"Oh! Ooh! Oof!" Lori huff as she rolled, bouncing on bumps on the ground, finally landing with a flop.

"Ahhh!" she heard someone yell. Then there was a screech and Lori smelled smoke. "Are you crazy?!" the same voice shouted after what seemed like a crash. "What the heck are you doing?!"

Lori couldn't answer him. She was lying on the ground, her chest heaving as she gasped for breath. When she opened her eyes, everything was spinning. A face—at least Lori thought it was a face—came into view.

"Are you okay?"

Lori groaned in reply. The guy reached over and pulled her up, slowly. "Thanks," she moaned.

"What were you thinking?" he asked.

"I wasn't…I guess." Then Lori suddenly remembered something. She jumped to her feet to see if it had followed her. She sighed in relief when she saw that it didn't."

"Are you okay?" the guy asked again.

"Yeah," Lori nodded, still panting a little. "I'm fine."

"I don't think you are."

"Huh?"

"You're bleeding…a lot."

Lori looked down at her left arm and grimaced. It was battered, bleeding so much she couldn't even see the wound. "You're right," was all she said.

"Why don't you wait here, and I'll go get some help?"

"Uh…" Lori looked worriedly at the forest where she had just come through.

"Or you could come with me?" the guy said, seeing my face.

"Mom says not to talk to strangers," Lori lied. She didn't know who this guy was, whether he was good or bad or in between (if that was possible). She wasn't sure if this guy could be trusted, and the mom-stranger card was the perfect excuse to test people out.

"Well…" the guy said. "My name is Nick Russell. I'm 21 years old and I like classic motorcycles, both riding and fixing them. You?"

"Lori Kellen, 12."

"All right, now that we know each other, let's get going…before you bleed to death."

Lori almost laughed. "Right," she said.

Nick picked up his motorcycle from where it laid on its side on the side of the road. Lori guessed the accident was caused by him trying to avoid running her over. She looked at it apologetically as she climbed on behind him. The engine sputtered a little, but then roared to life. The late teen revved the engine and sped down the road.

"Wow, what did you do?" the nurse asked when Lori was brought into the hospital.

"I fell," Lori answered simply. The woman looked skeptical, as if she thought she was lying, but Nick confirmed her story with a nod. Shrugging to show she didn't really care, the nurse called in the doctor. He looked a little more nice and welcoming than the nurse, but maybe that was because he got paid more for doing whatever he was supposed to do. He tried to make small talk as he examined Lori's arm, but when neither she nor Nick said much, he gave up. In silence, he finished his job.

"You have a fracture, almost a break. Try not to put any extra weight on it for the next three weeks. Other than that, you're fine," he reported—a little coolly—when he was done.

"So do I have to come back for any checkups?" Lori asked him.

"If you want the cast off," the doctor answered.

"Can another doctor take it off?" she asked. "We're just traveling through," she added when the man looked suspicious.

"I suppose," was his answer.

The little girl nodded. Good, she didn't intend to come back here. She wondered how she would explain it to Tommy, but decided her best bet was to have it taken off by Justin or Zhane, any one of the "kids" that she knew wouldn't rat her out.

In addition to the cast, the doctor also put Lori in a sling. He also prescribed some painkillers in case it hurt too much. Lori didn't really feel anything, her arm had kind of gone a bit numb this whole time, but she found no reason to tell him this, so she quietly took the slip, stuffed it in her pocket, nodded to the doctor and nurse's words to be more careful in the future, and left with Nick.

"So, should I take you home?" he asked when we made it out to fresh air.

"Uh…to be honest, I don't even know how to get home from here," Lori said. "Actually, I don't even know where _here_ is."

"Then how did you get here?" Nick asked.

"I'm wondering that myself," the little girl muttered. "Where are we?"

"Briarwood," he answered. His voice sounded weird, full of emotion, Lori didn't know how to describe it.

"Briarwood," she murmured. She had never heard of it before. "Is it still in California?"

"Yeah."

Well, at least she's still in the state. Lori sighed and looked around. Nothing seemed familiar. What was she going to do?

"I don't want to rush you or anything, but I kind of want to go somewhere, so…"

"Hey, it's cool, I don't have anywhere to be," Lori shrugged, following the teen to his bike. "Where are you going?"

"Rock Porium. It's a record store," he added when he saw my puzzled look. "I used to work there with my friends; I'm going to see if I could find them there. I've been gone for a year."

"Where've you been?"

"It's kind of a long story."

"Are they all?" Lori replied.

Nick smiled and chuckled and helped her get on behind him then he gunned the engine and shot into town. He pulled up by a large oak tree, also full of leaves, Lori noted. As he turned off the engine and took off his helmet, Lori noticed Rock Porium. You really couldn't miss it. Its wall was very colorful; some could call it a mess of paint, others call it abstract art, but Lori had one word for it: target. It looked as if whoever painted it just threw the paint against the wall. But she had to admit, if it was looking to attract attention, it definitely worked splendidly. She was hooked.

"This must've been an interesting place to work," Lori said as she and Nick headed over to the store.

"It was," Nick agreed, nodding.

They walked in together. Lori looked around. She didn't know much about music, but obviously, these people did. There were tons of CDs, DVDs, and vinyl records. It was all set up in a pretty cool, casual way. It was pretty busy as well, not completely packed, but not empty either. No one noticed them at first, but Lori sure noticed the people in there. They didn't look like the everyday people you see on the streets. Some looked stunningly beautiful, others looked utterly hideous…and then she saw it, and it was coming over!

"Ahh!" she cried, unintentionally grabbing onto Nick's sleeve.

"Oh, it's you again!" said the goblin-troll thing when he came up to her. "I-I think I surprised you before, my apologies."

"Uh…" Lori didn't know what to say. "N-Nick?"

"Nick?" asked the creature. He looked over at the teen Lori was standing next to and gasped. "Nick!" he exclaimed. At once everything was quiet. Everyone in the store turned their heads and looked towards the three by the door.

"Nick!" they all yelled running up to him. The first one to reach him was a girl. She was had long black hair tied back in a ponytail and wore a purple shirt that Lori guessed was the store's uniform, for three others wearing it came up behind her (one girl and two guys). The first girl threw her arms around Nick. The two embraced tightly.

"Nick, you're back!" exclaimed the other girl in the purple shirt. Her hair was short, but dyed hot pink.

"Nick, it's great to see you, mate!" said one of the guys in the purple shirt.

"How long are you visiting?" the other guy, a redhead, asked.

"You don't visit home, Chip," Nick replied when he finally let go of the girl he was hugging.

"So you're staying?" the girl asked.

Nick didn't answer; even Lori knew that was a rhetorical question.

"I hate to interrupt your reunion," Lori said. "But I have a question."

The five teens looked down at her, waiting for her to ask. She just motioned around at the people in the store, not knowing how to put it into words.

Nick looked where she pointed and chuckled lightly. "Briarwood's not like any place you've ever seen before, huh?"

"I've never seen so much…_diversity_ in a place," she replied.

"Half of these people are mystical beings, that used to live in hiding in a parallel dimension in the forest," Nick told her. "But during the final battle against the Master, they stepped out and joined forces with the citizens of Briarwood to fight against the real evil."

"And now monsters and humans lived together in harmony?" Lori guessed.

"We're not monsters," said the nasty creature Lori had encountered earlier.

"Then what are you?" she asked.

"Me? I'm Phineas the Troblin."

"The what?"

"The Troblin. Half troll, half gobblin."

"Oh," was all Lori could muster up at the moment.

"This is Lori," Nick said after a short pause. "Lori Kellen. Lori, these are Xander Bly, Chip Thorn, and Madison and Vida Rocca."

"It's nice to meet you, Lori," said Madison (the girl who hugged Nick).

"You too," Lori nodded. Again, it came to the part where no one knew what to say and it drifted towards the uncomfortable silence. Then Lori laughed. "It's funny," she said. "Every place I've lived, from Angel Grove to Blue Bay Harbor to Reefside, villains had chosen it as the place they attack when they want to take over the world. I've seen countless monsters destroying the city but never as much as uttered a whimper, but when I saw Phineas today in the forest, I ran screaming at the top of my lungs. What's happening to me?"

The others laughed. But suddenly Phineas got serious.

"How did you get into the forest?" he asked.

"I walked?" Lori guessed, not really understanding his question.

"A lot of people go into the forest now Phineas," Xander said, "ever since they know there's nothing to be afraid of in there."

"No, but she's not from here," Nick added. "She's never even heard of Briarwood."

"And I've never heard of the places she lived," Madison said. "Angel Grove? Blue Bay Harbor? Reefside? Where are those places?"

"They're small cities in California," Lori answered.

Okay, now they were all getting a little confused. None of them knew what was going on anymore.

"Hey," Chip said suddenly. "If you're back, then Udonna should be back too right?"

"Yeah, we all came back," Nick confirmed.

"Then let's just go ask her!" Vida exclaimed.

"She went to Rootcore to see Claire!" Nick reported excitedly.

"Let's go!" Xander said and Lori found herself running after the teens—and the Troblin—out of the record shop and across the street. She came, however, into a screeching halt when the first of the group, Chip and Vida, ran straight at the oak tree and vanished with a flash.

"Whoa!" she cried. "What was that?!"

"_That_ was how you got out of the forest today," Phineas told her matter-of-factly.

"Huh?"

"Come on, we'll explain later," Nick said, patting her on the shoulder.

_O…kay_, she thought, and allowed him to steer her through the tree. Lori was shocked when she found that the Troblin was right. Through the oak, she found that she had returned to the eerily gray forest. Furthermore, the teens were now in different outfits. They wore black outfits accented in different colors, Chip in yellow, Madison in light blue, Nick in red, Vida in pink, and Xander in green. They even had sleeves that covered their forearms, starting from their wrist and going up to their elbows, and capes that reached their knees.

Lori was about to open her mouth to ask, but the others were already headed in a direction and she didn't want to get left behind. Where they led her shocked her even more. Her jaw dropped open as she stared up at a gigantic tree, its trunk and limbs twisted like a braid. Nick, his hand still on her shoulder, led her to the entrance, which seemed like a root of the tree. It was in the shape of a head of a gator or a croc or maybe some kind of dinosaur. It had a red orb near the top corner that looked like an eye and when it opened for them to enter, it had what looked like stalagmite and stalactite coming from the roof and floor, representing teeth. Lori gulped nervously as it closed, "_swallowing_" them in.

Inside, Lori guessed was the hollowed out trunk. It was a pretty round, circular room. Despite the medieval look, it also had computers. There was a large round table in the middle with a big yellow crystal ball set in its center. To the left of that was a podium, holding a large encyclopedia sized volume. Opposite of that was a wall that hung five brooms, each with a different colored background that matched the ones the teens wore. Thinking back, Lori should've guessed at once, but she was in too deep of shock.

Four people were already in there, sitting around the big wooden table that looked like it was part of the tree. Two of them were women, dressed in white dress/robes. The other two were men, dressed in what Lori guessed knights would've worn under their armor. Three of them were obviously older than the teens, but one of the women looked about their age. They looked at the newcomers, stopping their conversation. They didn't seem surprised to see the Troblin, but their eyes soon fell on Lori and grew wide.

"What is this?" asked the oldest man. He wore a tan vest over white, a streak of his hair down the middle graying like his mustache.

"Welcome to Rootcore, Lori," Nick said, walking the little girl to the table. The others followed behind.

"Nick?" asked the older woman. She had long wavy brown hair that was somewhat put up. Her dress was long and wrinkly, kind of like her skin.

"Who is this you brought here?" asked the other man. He was in his thirties or so, a bit younger than the other man, but older than the teens, definitely. His hair was all black and combed back. He had a light mustache that encased his mouth. His clothes were mainly a golden color.

"This is Lori Kellen," Nick told them. "Lori, this is Daggeron, Clare, and my parents, Udonna and Leanbow."

Lori nodded at them in acknowledgement. They nodded slightly back.

"Udonna, we want to ask you something," Vida said.

"What is it?" asked the older woman.

The seven of them told the four about their conversation at Rock Porium. At once the elders led them to the podium.

"This is the Xenotome, it is all-knowing and holds all the power and secrets of the Mystic Rangers," Udonna told Lori as she opened it and began searching the pages

"Rangers," Lori said. "You guys are the Power Rangers?!"

"Yeah, didn't you know?" Vida asked.

"Should I have?"

"Well, ever since that last battle a year ago," Xander said. "Everyone in Briarwood has known."

"Well I'm not from Briarwood," Lori reminded him. "So you don't have a secret identity?"

"We did up until then," Chip answered.

Lori smirked. "I guess I should've known when I saw the colors," she said, eyeing the colors they wore. Even in their civilian life, the Rangers tend to wear colors that matched their Ranger color. Lori had noticed that after learning her friends' Ranger identity. Before learning of their secret, she just thought they were strangely (and coincidentally) color-obsessed. "Are you all Rangers?"

"The five of us" Madison said, meaning the teens "are the Mystic Force Rangers. Udonna was our mentor, a powerful sorceress, and the White Mystic Ranger. Daggeron was our teacher and the Solaris Knight, and Leanbow was _his _teacher and the Wolf Warrior. And Clare, is now a full-fledge sorceress."

"Knights, Warriors, Sorceresses?" Lori asked. "Sounds more like a fairytale than your modern day superheroes, don't it?"

"You seem to know a lot of information about the Power Rangers," Udonna observed.

"I'm friends with three teams of Power Rangers," Lori answered. "The Turbo and Space Rangers from Angel Grove, the Ninja Storm Rangers from Blue Bay Harbor, and the Dino Thunder Rangers from Reefside."

"Again, where are those places?" Madison asked.

"Ah," Udonna said when she found what she was looking for. "These places are in a different dimension," she told them. "That dimension lies on the other side of the forest."

"Another dimension?" Lori asked.

"Yes."

"So you're telling me I just walked right through to another dimension?"

"That's right."

Lori thought about that for a while. "How accurate is that book?" she finally asked.

"The Xenotome is all knowing," Udonna repeated. "The Xenotome is a fountain of untapped magical knowledge; hence it is called "The Book of The Unknown"."

Again Lori had to take a little time for to digest it all. Then she suddenly got an idea. She told them about the prophecy. "If the Xenotome knows everything, can it tell us who this _Son_ is?"

The Book answered before the old sorceress. The pages began to glow and a yellow light seared out of the spine, the binding of the book as if it was about to rip it open, right down the middle. Lori and her new friends could do nothing but watch with wide eyes and open mouths.

* * *

If you want this story to continue, please review! 


	5. Chapter 5

Son of War

Disclaimer: Anything you can google is not mine.

Chapter 5 – MAK: Son of

"Wait a minute, something's missing," Andros said suddenly. "Where's Arry?"

"Who's Arry?" Shane asked.

"Lori," Zhane told him. "Her real name is Aeron."

"Aeron?" Dustin asked. "No wonder she keeps it a secret."

"The same way you keep your name a secret, _Waldo_," Tori teased.

"Okay, now that was just low."

The younger Rangers laughed, but the older ones were worried now.

"We just called an emergency meeting," Andros said. "She should've been the first one to get here."

"Lori doesn't have a communicator," TJ said. "Maybe she didn't get the call?"

"No, Lori has this," Cam said, showing the others the disk. "She heard me when I called for Blake and Hunter, she should've heard it when you called for us."

"Then where is she?" Ashley asked.

"Trent, she was with you, wasn't she?" Justin asked.

"She left not long after you did," Trent answered. "She said she was gonna go for a walk, to clear her head."

"Where did she go?" Cassie asked. Trent shrugged.

"Should we go find her?" Kira asked.

"I don't think we have the time," Hayley replied. She was at the main computer, typing away. "Look!"

The Rangers gathered around her.

"What isthat?" Blake asked, pointing to the gigantic coal/lava-like monster on the screen.

"Maligore," Tommy answered.

"Rangers, show yourselves before I destroy your pathetic little city!" the monster roared.

"Whoa, I didn't know Maligore talked!" Justin exclaimed.

"I guess he's had time to learn," Tommy replied wryly.

"So what do we do?" Connor asked.

"We show ourselves," Andros answered simply.

"But what about Arry?" Zhane asked.

"With a villain like Maligore on the loose, I don't think we can spare even one Ranger," Justin said.

"We can't just leave her out there then," Trent said, "if Maligore's really as bad as you say. What if something happens to her?"

"I'll have CyberCam run a scan for her," Cam volunteered.

"You still have CyberCam?" Hunter asked.

"Who do you think is running Ninja Ops right now?" Cam replied.

"All right, you do that," Tommy said. "As for the rest of us, we better get out there."

"Maybe you guys should go alone," Carlos suggested to the Dino Rangers. "This is your city and as far as Maligore is concerned, you're the only team of Rangers. If we keep the rest of us being here a secret…"

"Then we can have the element of surprise on our side!" TJ finished for him.

Ethan nodded. "That's a good idea," he agreed.

"Let's go then," Connor nodded. "Ready?"

"Ready!"

"Dino Thunder, Power Up!"

"White Ranger, Dino Power!"

Now morphed as the Red, Blue, Yellow, Black, and White Dino Rangers, Connor, Ethan, Kira, Tommy, and Trent ran off the meet the glowing lava monster as the others crowded around the main computer to watch. And it wasn't pretty. They had barely made it there before they realize it was an ambush and the Dino Rangers found themselves surrounded by foot soldiers as far as the eye could see. Foot soldiers from every past villain after the Zordon era were there, Stingwingers, Batlings, Putrids, Kelzaks, Kelzak Furies, Tyrannodrones, and Triptoids, all waiting impatiently to charge the small team of Rangers.

"Aw man, this is not good," Tommy said as he and his students dropped into a defensive fighting stance.

"Come on, we gotta go help them!" Shane exclaimed back at Dino Ops.

"Hang on!" Justin cried, pulling him back. "Look!" He pointed at the top of a building.

"Dr. O, any ideas?" Kira asked shakily as the horde of foot soldiers stated to close in.

"Fight together, hang tough, and don't give up," the teacher answered.

"How big do you think our chances of winning are?" Ethan asked.

"You're the brainiac," Connor replied. "Can't you figure it out?"

"Does it look like I can figure it out?" Ethan shot back.

"It _looks _like you guys need some help!"

The Dino Rangers looked up to the source of the voice. A relieved look came over their faces under their helmets.

"What is this?!" Maligore thundered.

"New Rangers!" Trent exclaimed.

"That's right!" shouted the one in the middle.

There were nine of them total. Five regular Rangers: Red, Blue, Yellow, Pink, and Green. There was also a White, Gold, Crimson, and Silver. Those four looked different though, obviously the "Other" Rangers. The one in the middle was smaller than the rest. He or she wore what looked like gladiator armor, it was silver, accented with a shocky-lightning blue making it look like ice, crystal; the opposite of the colors of Maligore. Whoever that person was, it was obvious they were in charge.

"Forceful as Fire, Red Mystic Ranger!"

"Fast as Lightning, Yellow Mystic Ranger!"

"Fluid as the Sea, Blue Mystic Ranger!"

"Ever Changing as the Wind, Pink Mystic Ranger!"

"Strong as a Tree, Green Mystic Ranger!"

"Flurry of Snow, White Mystic Ranger!"

"Power of the Sun, Solaris Knight!"

"Burning Heart of Fire! Wolf Warrior, Defender of Truth!"

"Will of the Mind, Dimensional Gate Guardian!"

"More Rangers?" Maligore glowered.

"That's right, Maligore!" shouted the Dimensional Gate Guardian. "We're sending you right back to where you came from."

"Not unless I melt you first!" the monster sneered.

"Enough; let your fighting do the talking!"

"You got lucky this time, Dino Rangers!" Maligore cried, pointing down to the surrounded team with a claw. "But next time I will crush all of you, and your little planet too! Then we'll see who will get in my way against that pestering little monkey!"

And with that he was gone, with a sudden flash, along with the infinite amount of foot soldiers. The new Rangers jumped down, off the building, landing in front of the Dino Rangers.

"Who are you?" Ethan asked.

"Not now," said the Dimensional Gate Guardian. "Let's get back to the Lab; I think everyone should hear this."

"Wait, hang on, how do you know the Lab?" Kira asked.

"Kira, I was only gone for one day," the Guardian said before heading off, leading the others with her.

Confused and bewildered, the Dino Rangers followed the newcomers back to their own base.

"Power Down!" they all commanded when they reached the underground cave. Everyone in the already-packed lab gathered to see who these strangers were. Most of them were strangers, but one however, they all recognized immediately, and it cause them to go into shock.

The Guardian turned out to be a girl. A little girl, in her preteens. She broke into a wide grin when she saw the surprised faces of her friends. "I couldn't let you have all the fun now, could I?"

"Lori?" Tommy finally managed to say. "What—how—when?"

His young god-daughter shrugged. "I told you, I've always wanted to be a Ranger."

"Who are those new Rangers?!" Maligore demanded. He sat on his throne in his lair, hovering above a lava pit in the middle of a volcano.

"We…don't know, sire," said the highest of his generals.

"Psycho Rangers! You're supposed to be faster, stronger, and smarter than the Power Rangers. Tell me then, why have you not been able to defeat them? Why are you not even capable of capturing one, powerless human child?"

"She's hardly human," said Psycho Blue.

"And hardly powerless," added Psycho Black.

"Silence!" roared Maligore. "You five came from the energy of my dead brother, Dark Specter. Show me you are worth living before I destroy you and take that energy for myself!"

"Yes, sire," nodded Psycho Red.

"Go, and get me that girl!"

"Immediately!"

"Lori, how did you do it? How did you get your powers?" Justin asked after the girl had introduced the Mystics to the other Rangers (and allies).

"Yeah, come on Arry, spill!" Zhane encouraged.

Lori nodded, she knew she couldn't get away with not telling them how she became a Ranger—or Ranger-like, at least.

"Where did your powers come from?" Tommy asked.

"An old friend," Lori answered.

"Billy?" was the first person to pop into Tommy's head.

"No," Lori said, shaking her head.

"The Alien Rangers…from Aquitar?"

"Nope."

"The Blue Senturion?" TJ guessed.

Lori shook her head.

"The Phantom Ranger?" Cassie suggested.

Again, no.

"Ninjor?" Tommy guessed again.

Still wrong. Everyone was guessing old Ranger allies from different planets now.

"Auric the Conqueror?" Tommy asked.

"Magna Defender?" Andros inquired.

"Trey of Triforia?" Tommy had been a Ranger the longest, so he knew the most people. He was just throwing names out there. Although Lori had done her homework (learning all she could about the past teams of Rangers and their eras) she was soon lost by their guesses.

"All right, we give up!" Justin cried in frustration. "Just tell us already."

"I can't believe you guys missed him…" Lori sighed, shaking her head. "It's Zordon!"

"Zordon?!" demanded Tommy, Justin, and the Space Rangers.

"But that's impossible, Zordon was destroyed. I did it myself," Andros said.

"Yeah, it was the good energy from his tube that saved the universe from the UAE," TJ added.

"I never said he was back," Lori pointed out.

"Then how?" Zhane asked.

"The Mystic Rangers are, well…mystical. They have this book called the Xenotome that knows everything (it was what told us that we're actually from different dimensions, but we'll get back to that). Anyways, I told them about the prophecy and asked them if the Xenotome could tell who the _Son _was."

"And did it?" Hunter asked. Several people shushed him.

"Well, just when we were about to ask, the book began to flash like it never before--"

"And that's when Zordon showed up," Tommy said.

Lori nodded. "A giant blue head floating in the midair is way freakier than a giant blue head in a tube. Anyways, he told me about my history."

"Your history?" Justin asked.

"Yep," Lori nodded. She turned to him. "Did you know my father is Maligore?"

Everyone gasped—everyone that is, except Tommy and Justin, just as she expected.

"I knew it. You knew. You knew all along and you never told me! Why would you do that? You two are the closest people to me. And you kept something like that a secret?!"

"Lori, we couldn't tell you that," Tommy said. "We couldn't just say that your father is a monster living inside a volcano on a lost island in a different dimension."

"Why not?"

"Do you think you would have believed us?" Justin asked. "Besides, if you didn't know then you'd be safe."

"That's what you said for not telling me you were a Power Ranger," Lori retorted.

"Because it was also true in that case. And that our identities are for--"

"'Me to know and them to find out'," Lori recited grumpily. "I know."

Justin gave her a look that said, _There you go_. Lori sighed.

"Wait," Kira said, "if Maligore is your father, who's your mother?"

Lori turned to her. "Do you know the Greek Goddess, Athena?" she asked her. "Known to the Romans as Minerva…goddess or wisdom, war, and arts and craft…patron goddess of Athens…"

"Yeah, we know," Ethan said, cutting her short. "What about her?"

"You know how they say she was born to Zeus alone, breaking out of his head through a massive headache?"

"You're not saying…" Cam asked.

Lori nodded. "I'm Athena, Maligore is Zeus."

"You…?"

"I'm a part of Maligore, further speaking, I'm his heart. That's why I'm not evil when he was. Where his heart should've been, he ripped it out. It became me. Zordon said the power I have in me matches, or maybe even exceeds, the power of Maligore. And that's why he's after me. The Psychos, they're working for him now."

"The Psychos are working for Maligore?" Carlos asked. "So they're back?"

"They're definitely back," Lori confirmed.

"That's not good," TJ said. "Psycho Blue put me into extensive medical care without even breaking a sweat. It took all six of us to defeat him alone."

"Don't worry," Shane said. "You got all of us now."

"The Psychos aren't the only monsters under Maligore's command," Cassie reminded them. "We can't all just focus on the Psychos."

"Yeah," Ashley agreed. "Just today, there were thousands of foot soldiers that just appeared out of thin air. I have a feeling there's a lot more of them wherever they came from."

"Well, if you want to kill a snake, cut off his head," Cam said.

"Huh?" Conner asked.

"When you want to stop an army, take out the general," Justin explained.

"How are we going to fight the big guy, if we can't even handle the little ones?" Dustin asked.

"You leave him to me," Lori said. "He's my father…my _host_. Let me handle him, you guys can deal with the rest."

"You can't go up against that thing all by yourself!" Blake said. "No offense, but he'll just squash you like a bug."

"Said the beetle-boy," Lori muttered sarcastically.

"Hey, at least I have a Zord to battle him with? What do you have?"

"Will and determination, the source of my powers."

"Well, will and determination aren't going to protect you when a giant monster foot comes crashing down on you."

"You don't know that. Zordon said that I am the only thing that can truly destroy Maligore. It's like Trent's thing actually."

"My what?" Trent asked, confused.

"Remember your evil clone? How the two of you couldn't exist together 'cause there could only be one White Ranger? Well, that's kind of my situation now. Me and Maligore, we're two parts of one. Neither one of us can survive for long while the other is still out there, because as much as we are the same, we are also the opposite. The two of us are kind of like spirits, battling for control of the body. Right now, he has the body, and if I don't get it soon…" Lori trailed off suggestive, not wanting to say it out loud, but her friends already understood.

"But I still don't get the prophecy thing," Tori said. "Are you it? Are you the _Son_?"

Lori nodded.

"But you're not a boy," Connor said.

"Way to point out the obvious," teased Ethan. Connor gave him a sharp look.

"My initials spell MAK, which means _son of_," Lori answered.

"How do your initials spell MAK?" Dustin asked. "Your name is Lori."

"My full name is Mallory Aeron Kellen. Zordon said when a being is born they come into the world with two names, one that the dark side call them by, and one that good side call them by. Mallory is my so-called 'Evil' name. It means _ill-omened_. Aeron is my 'Good' name. It means _battle ending_. Kellen is a name I was given…_after_ I came to Earth." Lori looked knowingly at Tommy.

He smiled. "We gave her that name," he admitted, "Alpha and I. Kellen means _powerful_, and she was. Zordon told us that if brought up the right way, Lori could be the most powerful being in the universe."

"Zordon never told us that," Justin objected.

"I was the only one who knew Lori had hitchhiked on the Turbo Megazord and followed us out of the Nemesis Triangle," Tommy told him. "Zordon decided to keep it that way. She couldn't remember anything, so Alpha and I made up memories for her, to make her think like a regular kid, to hide her from everything. Back then, we didn't know she was the prophecy…heck, we didn't even know there was a prophecy, at least _I_ didn't. We just saw a baby that needed help."

"A baby?" Lori asked. "I must've been five when you found me."

"I know, a baby," Tommy nodded.

"Oh wow, thanks," Lori replied sarcastically. The others couldn't suppress a laugh.

"So how did you get your powers?" Justin asked, still confused.

Lori raised her left arm. A cuff-like bracelet was around her wrist. It looked exactly like the ones the Dino Rangers wore, but instead of having a Dino Gem set in the middle, Lori's have a _Z_ on hers. The _Z_ was basically a miniscule (bent) version of Zordon's energy tube; it even contains the blue energy that Zordon's had.

"Light and love, anything Good is the source of my powers, will and determination is the key to them," Lori answered.

That confused them.

"Huh?" asked the younger Rangers.

"It means that her powers have been there the entire time," Zhane explained. "And it'll always be there as long as there's Good wherever she is. It just takes will and determination to unlock those powers."

"Thank you," Lori nodded to her bleached-blonde-haired friend.

"So you're the _Son_…" TJ said.

Trent chuckled. "You've been whacking your head out trying to find yourself."

Lori laughed with him, it _was_ pretty funny.

"Great," Shane said. "Now there are 26 of us, 26 Power Rangers. Maligore better watch his back now."

"Oh yeah!" cheered the other youngsters.

Lori didn't join in with the hooting; neither did Justin because his long experience counts him as an older Ranger along with the Space team, Tommy, and Udonna, Leanbow, and Daggeron. The two best friends exchanged determined looks, but they were set and serious, unlike the others who were happy and excited, they knew better than to look forward to a battle. Not that they were cowards, but they knew that violence should always be a last resort. Amidst the rowdiness of the other young Rangers getting pumped for the war ahead, Lori and Justin did not miss the looks the team mentors/leaders exchanged. They knew something that they didn't. Lori knew no matter how she pestered Tommy or Andros, they would deny it, but she had to find out what they knew, 'cause most likely, it was about her.

* * *

I know Maligore isn't supposed to talk, but how can he be an evil commander if he can't give orders? Review! 


	6. Chapter 6

Son of War

Disclaimer: Anything you can google is not mine.

A/N: Yea, it's been a while. Sorry. You know how it is with school.

Chapter 6 – Cat and Capture

It wasn't until that night when they were eating dinner in his kitchen did Tommy notice that Lori was wearing a cast (she got rid of the sling when she got her powers). At once he demanded the story and Nick gave him an explanation, getting Lori off the hook. If the Earth wasn't on the verge of the destruction, Lori could've sworn Tommy would've grounded her, even though he hasn't officially adopted her yet…in fact he hasn't even talked to her personally about it. He only mentioned it to Justin. Even though she would trust Justin with her life, Lori wasn't really sure how reliable his word could be in this situation.

Tommy told the teens (and preteen, in Lori's case) to resume their normal lives until they get the call. The five Mystics joined Justin, the Reefside students, and the ninjas at Cyberspace while the older, adult Rangers did whatever they did in secret. Lori tried not to think about what Tommy and the others were doing, but she couldn't. She kept spacing out when her friends were talking to her. Her head was drifting.

"Lori…Yo Lori!"

"Huh?" Lori asked, shaken. "What'd you say?"

"What is up with you?" Nick asked. "You've been acting all weird lately."

"Nothing, I'm fine," Lori said.

"Right, and Conner's Albert Einstein," Ethan said sarcastically.

"Hey!" Conner replied.

"Lori's just wondering what the others are up to," Justin told the others.

"You just have to know everything, don't you?" Lori retorted, a little annoyed, but also in a friendly sort of way.

"Hey, is it my fault I know you so well?"

"Uh, yeah!"

"Come on Lori, relax," Connor said. "If they need us, they'll call."

"I know," Lori sighed. "I just don't like to wait around."

"Then don't, let's do something," Hunter suggested.

"What did you have in mind?" Xander asked in his Australian accent.

Blake grinned widely, clapping his big brother on the shoulder. "There's nothing better than getting down and dirty!"

"You sure you want to do this?" Lori asked jokingly, finishing securing her pads. "I don't want to embarrass you too much in front of them."

"Lori, you may be able to beat Dustin on the 125, but you're riding with the big boys now," Hunter said. He and the other ninjas knew that even in a cast, Lori was good enough for the race to be fair. It took some time to convince the others though.

Lori laughed as Dustin smacked Hunter on the arm with a "Hey!"

"No one's bigger than you, huh?" she said to the Crimson Ranger.

"You guys sure you don't want to join us?" Blake asked the other Rangers standing at the sidelines.

"What about you, Nick?" Vida asked. "You ride."

"I ride motorcycles, no dirt bikes," Nick replied.

"What's the difference?" Kira asked.

"Yeah," Madison agreed. "They're both just bikes, right?"

Hunter, Blake, and Dustin stared at them in disbelief.

"You're kidding, right?" Dustin said as the other racers strapped on their helmet and brought down their tinted visors.

CyberCam had driven the Mobile Command Center up to Reefside from Blue Bay Harbor, bringing with him the dirt bikes from Storm Chargers (the extreme sports shop Hunter, Blake, and Dustin work at) as well as the Ninja Rangers' own Tsunami Cycles while Lori went home to get her own bike stored in Tommy's garage. Now Dustin and Lori were riding their own 125s while the Bradley brothers were on their 250s. CyberCam wanted to join the race too, but Cam sent him back to Ninja Ops. Cam was also the flagman.

"Racers ready?" he asked from his spot at the sidelines. He was answered by several revs of the engines. "Go!" Cam shouted, waving the checkered flag.

Four bikes shot forward. They were like blurs, each bike a different color: yellow, navy, crimson, and silver, corresponding with the rider's Ranger colors. The others were cheering on the sidelines (except Cam, who had to remain unbiased), although they weren't really cheering for one person in particular, they were just screaming and shouting and jumping and waving.

The race was short, just two laps around the one-mile-long local race track. Lori didn't even know there was a track in Reefside, but apparently, that was the reason Blake came here in the first place. He was here for a race and met Kira at Cyberspace when she thought he looked familiar. However, they were both surprised when they found out they were both Power Rangers.

Lori was right, she did beat her older friends in the race, but not by as much as she expected, and she didn't exactly embarrass them…not that much. She managed to surpass Hunter and Dustin, but Blake was a pro now, better than he was before when they were just playing, messing around back in Blue Bay Harbor. Also, his bike was bigger than hers, though his had always been. Neither her friends, nor Kelly (the owner of Storm Chargers) thought Lori was ready for a 250, however good she was. But Lori was also lighter than Blake, a lot lighter, and was able to fly higher and farther on that last jump, enabling her to win…by a centimeter.

"Ye-ah!" Lori cheered, punching the air with both fists as her bike came to a slow after passing the start/finish line.

"Whoo!" applauded the others, hopping over the fence to meet her.

The racers took off their helmets, shaking their heads from the heat and gasping for breath.

"Told you I would win," Lori said to her competitors.

"Not by as much as you thought," Blake replied, walking over and tapping a gloved fist to hers.

"Are you blushing, Blake?" Tori teased at his flushed face.

"No, it's hot," he retorted, throwing her a look. "You should know, Ms. Freestyle No-Hand Landing."

"It wasn't that bad, I just took a little spill."

"The fender was facing backwards," Dustin reminded her.

"Shut up! How is it your business?" Tori said, turning to him.

"It was my bike!" Dustin replied.

"That was a long time ago."

"Right," Blake nodded sarcastically.

"Shut up!" Tori shoved him playfully on the shoulder and Blake laughed. "You can't surf, let's put it at that."

Everyone laughed at that one.

"Hey, it's not embarrassing when you lose a good race," Hunter pointed out.

"That's right," Dustin agreed.

"Dude, you came in last," Shane teased.

"I could beat you," Dustin replied.

The ninjas laughed openly, but the others tried to hold it in. Lori noticed that the teams still felt more comfortable with their own. They only teased their teammates and they tried not to laugh at the other Rangers. It made Lori feel a little weird, since all these people were her friends. She was close to all of them, had great memories and relationship with all of them, and she didn't want her friends to be strangers with…well, her friends. And if they were going to fight together as one team, then they have to work together, and trust each other like they were all _one_ team, not three (or four, including the Space Rangers) separate ones that gathered to work together on one big project.

"Uh, guys…" Trent said, interrupting the chattering and breaking Lori's train of thought.

"What? What is it?" Lori asked.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing. Both his voice and his hand seemed to be a little shaken. All the Rangers turned to look. Lori had to stand on her bike to see over some of them.

In front of them was a huge cat. Lori guessed it was a lion, it had a mane. But then, it also had stripes. The most surprising thing however, was that the animal's basecoat was white! Pure white, like snow (with fading tiger stripes). Never had Lori seen such a creature before. It was also the biggest feline Lori had ever seen.

"Cool!" Chip exclaimed.

"You know what that is?" Ethan asked.

"I thought you'd know, Ethan," Connor replied, his eyes (as well as everybody else's) still on the beast.

"Shut up, man."

"Chip?" Lori said, ignoring the bickering duo.

"That's a liger," Chip answered in disbelief.

"A liger?" Cam murmured.

"It's a lion-tiger hybrid," Dustin told him.

"I know what it is," the samurai retorted. "I didn't know you could use the word _hybrid_ though."

"I'm not stupid," Dustin replied.

"Just injudicious," Cam said.

"What does that mean?" Dustin asked, scratching his head.

"Is it just me being sensitive," Trent asked, "or is that thing white?"

Lori felt a little better. At least she wasn't the only one seeing the cat's strange fur color.

"You're right," Chip said. "That's weird. Ligers are usually the sandy color of their fathers."

"White or not, what is a liger doing here?" Lori asked.

"Maybe it's lost? Nick guessed.

Everyone tensed when the hybrid took a step forward. They grabbed the person closest to them. A whimper escaped some of them.

"Maybe it's hungry," Hunter corrected.

"You're a hunter, you should know," Chip said.

"Your name is Chip, doesn't mean you are one," Hunter replied, a little harsher than he had intended, but everyone was a bit preoccupied with the advancing liger to notice.

Lori suppressed a sigh of frustration. She shook her head and jumped off her bike, pushing past the others to get up front.

"Whoa, Lori, what are you doing?!" Maddie asked.

"I'm gonna check it out," Lori answered simply, without looking back.

"Are you crazy? That thing can swallow you whole!" Vida exclaimed.

"Someone's got to do it. And if you guys don't want to…" Slowly, Lori inched forward towards the liger, which had now stopped, looking at the gang, his—Lori looked to make sure—body heaving with each pant.

"Hey boy…" Lori breathed. The beast didn't move as Lori continued to advance, her right arm outstretched. Panting herself, Lori placed her hand on the head of the animal. Her small hand almost disappeared in the liger's thick mane. She felt him flinch slightly under her touch, but then he settled and seemed to enjoy it. Lori heard a purr turn in his throat; the vibration trembling his body enough for her to feel it. She swallowed nervously, but was also strangely hit by a wave of serenity.

The others sighed in relief when they realized that Lori wasn't going to be harmed, at least not by the liger. Cautiously, they took a step forward. As soon as they did, however, the liger advanced as well, moving past Lori and growling at the others, baring his large fangs. At once the other Rangers froze in their steps, but the liger didn't cease until they backed away, then he turned around, pleased with himself, and placed his head back under Lori's hand.

"Okay," Shane said. "Now that was weird."

"What do you think a liger is doing here, at a racetrack, in the middle of the city?" Lori asked, looking back at her friends.

"Maybe it escaped from the zoo?" Kira guessed.

"Is there a zoo here, in Reefside?" asked Blake, "with a liger?"

"How am I supposed to know," Ethan said, "I don't go to the zoo."

"I didn't even know there was a zoo," Connor added.

"Hey don't look at me," Trent said. "I just moved here."

"Several months ago," Lori pointed out.

"Whatever, I barely know this city."

"I'm gonna go look for one," Lori said, "a zoo. And if I can't find one, I'll take him to Animal Control. Someone must know what to do with him. Come on," she added quietly to the liger, beckoning him to follow.

"You sure you want to go alone?" Nick asked worriedly.

Lori shrugged. "I don't think he likes you guys," she said with a slight hint of amusement as the liger snarled at the others when they walked past them. Nick chuckled nervously as the teens watched the little girl walk away with the big cat.

"Finally, she's alone," growled Psycho Red. "Doesn't that girl go anywhere without a posse?"

"She's with that cat," Psycho Blue pointed out.

"We can deal with the cat," Psycho Red replied.

"That's a big cat."

"We can _deal _with the cat," Psycho Red repeated through clenched teeth (if they even had teeth).

"But we can't with a bunch of kids?" Psycho Yellow said.

"Those so-called _kids _are the Power Rangers!"

"And we're the Psycho Rangers," said Psycho Pink, "reduced to stalking a baby and waiting for her to be alone before we can nab her."

"That _baby _has more power than the five of us combined!"

"Then why are we afraid of those Power Brats, when this one has so much more power?" Psycho Black questioned.

"Look, I am the leader, and you will do as I say. Now go get her!" Psycho Red hissed.

With resentment, Psycho Blue led his team out from where they were hiding behind some bushes. They snuck up on the little girl with their super speed. However, when they got close enough to grab her, the cat's ears twitched and spun around. Three Psychos (Black, Yellow, and Pink) pounced on it while at the same time, Psycho Blue jumped on the girl. Immediately, Psycho Red drove them all into the ground, with their captives struggling frivolously in the Psychos iron grips. All this was done in less than 30 seconds and without a single peep.

"Uhhh!"

Lori grunted when the Psychos tossed her on the ground, her hands tied behind her back. The white liger was thrown down beside her, wearing a collar that electrocuted him if he tried anything—which happened several times on their way to…here.

Lori didn't know where she was, or where they were going. All she knew was that she had been ambushed by the Psycho Rangers and brought to wherever they are now. But when she started to feel hot and sweaty, she knew exactly where they were.

"I must say I have to thank you guys," she said as the Psychos prodded her to walk faster, ignoring the fierce snapping from the large feline next to her.

"Why's that?" Psycho Blue couldn't help from asking.

"Well, you've brought me—or you're at least_ bringing_ me—to Maligore. It saves me the trouble in tracking him down."

"Ha!" Psycho Blue laughed. "You won't be so thankful when you find out what Maligore has in store for you."

"And you won't be laughing when you see me kick his butt," Lori shot back.

"Y--"

"Shut up!" Psycho Red cried, giving Lori an extra shove, "The both of you!"

Psycho Blue threw his leader a dark look, though you couldn't really tell because of his helmet. Lori bit her lip to suppress a smile. This was good. The more they disagreed with each other, the less in sync they're gonna be, and the easier it'll get to get rid of them.

The Psychos brought their captives to the center of the volcano. The huge stone doors (that stood at least ten feet tall) opened on its own, slowly. Lori and the liger were pushed through to the room on the other side. She was actually kind of surprise to find a dock that allowed them to walk up to the floating throne where Maligore was sitting. Lori almost flinched at the sight of him…almost.

"Finally!" the monster roared. "You disappoint me, Psycho Rangers."

"Sorry, sire," Psycho Red said. Something was a little off, Lori suddenly realized. Psycho Red, from how Andros described him, was the vicious, impatient, evil leader of the Psycho Rangers. Yet this one here, was…well, not exactly vicious. Actually, come to think of it, he was kind of a wuss. The way he acted and spoke was not at all what Lori had expected from the one who disobeyed Astronema because she wouldn't let him destroy Andros soon enough. But before she got any further, she was forced down, kicked behind the knees, making her collapse.

"Bow down to Maligore, the Great Flame of Destruction!" Psycho Red commanded.

"Great Flame of my ass!" Lori replied, spitting in disgust. If Tommy had heard that, she would've been so busted.

The remarked earned Lori a violent kick. "Shut up!"

"Release her!" Maligore commanded, brandishing a claw.

"But sire--" Psycho Red protested.

"Do you think I cannot handle the child?"

"No. Immediately, sir," Psycho Red nodded. He threw Psycho Black a look and he obediently bent down to untie Lori. The liger growled and hissed fiercely. Lori gave him a look to quiet him when Psycho Yellow prepared to kick the animal.

"Shhh!" Lori whispered. The liger whimpered and dropped his head in shame. Lori looked back up at Maligore, getting up to her feet as the thick ropes that bound her dropped to the hot cement floor.

"Now, we are even," the monster said, rising to his feet as well. "Mallory is a part of me, treating her with disrespect is treating me with disrespect."

"Yes sir!" the Psychos saluted.

Maligore waved a claw and the Psychos backed to the stone door, but did not retreat out of it. Lori knew that they still posed a treat and factored them in as her red eyes darted around the room, her sharp mind quickly calculating for a way to escape.

"Well Mallory," Maligore said, motioning at the volcanic room. "Welcome home."

Lori smirked. "Thanks…_Dad_," she said sarcastically.

"You're welcome."

Lori mentally bit her lip. She didn't know how long this polite façade was going to go, but she knew she was running out of patience for the monster. Even now as she looked at his hideous face she wanted to destroy him right then and there, but she knew that as long as the Psychos were present, she wouldn't be able to overpower Maligore. As if reading her mind the liger beside her fidgeted.

Lori's worries were no longer needed because Maligore also grew tired of acting polite. "Now," he grumbled. "Once I combine us back together, I will have enough power to crush that little monkey and his _Golden Key_!" Maligore's face was full of hate when he said that last part, clenching his claw. Lori doubted he was talking to her anymore. Then the monster looked up at her. "How do you want to do this, the easy way or the hard way?"

"I'd prefer no way, but…" Lori shrugged.

"You know wise alecks never go very far."

"Neither do lava freaks."

"That's enough. You're my heart so you obviously have no brains."

"Said the big lump of coal."

Maligore released such a ferocious roar that Lori had to admit she was a little intimidated. Even the huge liger next to her seemed scared. The ground began shaking. At first Lori thought it was from Maligore's anger, but then realized it was something must worse.

"The volcano!" she heard the Psychos exclaimed.

It was erupting!

* * *

I know_ nothing_ about motocross, so point out any mistakes you see. Otherwise, thanks for hanging tight. Review!


	7. Chapter 7

Son of War

Disclaimer: Anything you can google is not mine.

Chapter 7 – Eruption

"We have to get out of here!" Lori hissed, glancing sideways at the liger. She couldn't hear it respond over the quaking of the volcano, but then realized she was speaking to an animal who had no way to talking back to her. The Psychos and Maligore were communicating frantically, but Lori couldn't hear them either. She searched the room with her eyes, calculating how long it would be before the volcano would blow. She wondered if she would have time to morph and fly out of there, but she knew that as soon as she moved, the Psychos would be on her.

Time was running out. Lori could see—and hear—the lava bubbling below. She looked up at Maligore. He didn't seem the least bit worried. And why would he? He lived—lives in a volcano, he's made up of cooled lava. But the Psychos weren't as lucky. Though they were made with Dark Specter's energy, they themselves were not fireproof, which means that they needed to get out just as badly as Lori did.

"Time to go," she heard a voice say in her hear.

Lori gasped and whipped around. Psycho Red was less than a foot away from her. She tried to stumble back on the shaking floor but he held her fast on her uninjured arm. The liger snapped fearlessly at the Psycho leader.

"Call him off, Arry, it's me!" Psycho Red hissed.

Lori gasped again. There were only two people in the world that she knew of that would call her by that. Both were friends that she would trust her life with. At the same time she realized this Psycho Red took off his helmet and tossed it over the side. The boiling lava gobbled it up eagerly.

"Zhane!" Lori cried in relief. He smiled at her briefly. The liger's growl grew lower when he realized that the person was a friend, but the growl was still there.

"Imposter!" Lori heard Psycho Black shout, pointing to the back to Zhane, who's head was now exposed.

"Get them!" Maligore bellowed.

"Run Arry!" Zhane cried, twirling the little girl around and pushing her forward. Lori started running, but there was nowhere to run to. They were on a small platform in the middle of a volcano that was about to erupt.

"Galaxy Glider, hang ten!" Zhane summoned. He jumped, somersaulted in the air, morphing in a flash and landed on the surfboard-like vehicle, he and the Space Rangers use as transportation. "Super Silverizer!"

With Zhane's personal weapon blasting at the Psychos behind her over her head, the liger snatched Lori up by the back of her shirt in his tight jaws and leaped up, landing lightly on the back of Zhane's Galaxy Glider.

"Hang on!" he called as he leaned forward, urging his vehicle on as they accelerated up towards the hole of the volcano, racing the lava out. Both Zhane and Lori breathed a sigh of relief when they made it out to the open. But their danger wasn't over yet. As soon as they shot out of the volcano, so did the lava. Zhane dipped, heading down to Earth while the fire shot upwards towards the sky.

"How are we going to keep the lava from destroying the city?" Lori asked, shouting to be heard.

"You don't think we did this unprepared?" Zhane replied, calling over his shoulder.

"What do we do then?"

"Leave this to us. You've got your very own guardian keeping you outta Hell, let's not make his job any harder than it already is," he added. The Silver Ranger looked back at the white liger. "Take care of her, Cerberus." Zhane slowed down as they became about fifteen feet above ground. "This is your stop."

With a snarl (Lori couldn't tell whether it was friendly or not), Cerberus threw Lori onto his back and jumped off. The bulky feline was surprisingly agile, landing lightly on his feet. They both managed to look back up fast enough to see Zhane speed away.

Before anything could be said, Lori was surrounded by her friends, launching questions at the same time. Lori, who was still a little stunned, couldn't hear enough to answer of them. So they just stood there, at the base of the erupting volcano, watching. Lori had no idea when Zhane and the other "adult" Rangers had planned, but whatever it was, she hoped they hadn't underestimated it.

They stood there, the 17 of them, waiting, but the lava never came. Then all of a sudden, it hit Lori with the force of a meteor. She gasped.

"What?" the others demanded. "What is it?"

Lori ignored them, contacting the base at once through her communicator.

"This is Tommy, go ahead," came the voice.

"Tommy, the lava--"

"Don't worry," said a different voice—Daggeron's, Lori thought. "It blasted into space, never came back down. I don't think it ever will. Earth's safe."

"That's the whole point!" Lori yelled.

"What do you mean?" Tommy asked.

"Earth was never the target," Lori answered, rushing in panic.

"What are you talking about? Why would Maligore plan his base here then?" Andros asked.

"He told us the very first day!" Lori yelled. "He was only here to destroy the Power Rangers, so they wouldn't get in his way. He's real target is Liaria. Maligore's after Lerigot!"

"Lori, are you sure about this?" Tommy asked. They were back at the Lab now, everyone gathered for the first time since Lori returned with the Mystics.

"Yes!" the little girl cried. "I can't believe it took me so long. He's said it several times. '_The little monkey_'," she quoted.

"We have to save to Liaria!" Justin cried.

"Let's go then, we can't waste anymore time!" Lori said.

"Uh, guys, I think we have a problem," Hayley said.

Everyone gathered around her and the main computer to see the reason for the alarm.

"The Psychos!" TJ muttered. "They survived the eruption!"

"Barely," Ashley noted. "They're left in their Psycho Monster forms."

"They still pose enough of a threat," Carlos said.

Cassie agreed. "We can't leave the Earth unprotected with them still here."

"And don't forget, the Abyss of Evil is still gaping open," Cam added.

Lori glanced impatiently at her watch. "Maligore's already ahead of us. If we don't get moving, he'll have destroyed Liaria before we even get there!"

"She right," Justin nodded. "Remember how Lerigot got weak when he was here too long, because of the sun? Imagine a huge lump of coal crash landing on that planet fueled by lava!"

Tommy was thinking hard. He was the leader here and everyone was waiting for him to say something. Finally he sighed, making up his mind. He turned to Lori.

"Okay, this is going to be your ultimate test. You think you're ready?"

"What do I have to do?" Lori asked.

"You're going to lead your friends to Liaria where you will warn Lerigot of the danger and protect the planet."

"Us?" Connor asked. "Are you sure?"

Tommy looked up at him, and then around at all the other teens.

"You're all Power Rangers. You're more powerful than you think. If you weren't up for it, you never would've gotten those powers. Use them wisely."

"How are we going to get to Liaria?" Hunter asked.

"Take this," Andros said, tossing something to Lori.

"What is it?" Vida asked, looking over the little girl's shoulder at the small device she caught.

"It's the key to the Astro Megaship Mark II."

"The Astro Megaship?" Chip asked excitedly.

"Don't you need it to battle the Psychos?" Lori asked, looking at the five giant monsters on the main screen.

"No worries," Zhane said. "The Mega Winger's online and ready for battle."

"And I have my Solar Streak Megazord," Daggeron added.

"And Catastros," said Leanbow.

"And there are six Dinozords at my command," Tommy said, finishing the list. "You can take the Astro Megaship."

"You might even need the Megazord yourself when you reach Liaria," Ashley added.

"Right," Justin nodded.

"I'll send your Zords after you," Hayley told them before they could ask.

"Good luck Rangers," the mentors said, lining up in front of row of teenagers.

At this Justin had to grin. He exchanged looks with Lori. Her expression matched his.

"And may the Power protect you," they said together, quoting Zordon.

Tommy smiled back, and nodded.

The young Rangers nodded back and boarded the Astro Megaship. None of them had ever been in the first Astro Megaship with the Space Rangers, and had never even heard of the second one (except for Justin, who had been living with—or near—the Space Rangers since their return to Earth). Instinctively, Lori headed for the controls. The bridge looked the same as the one she had seen in the photos and videos of the old one and she began assigning jobs for the others, with the center stations and the wall consoles.

Justin, Cam, and Ethan were the brains on team; they began working the buttons and switches, preparing the ship for takeoff. Lori took the joysticks, which were nearly head height to her.

"Ready?" she asked her friends.

"Ready as we'll ever be," Nick replied.

Lori nodded. "Then let's go. DECA, set a course for Liaria."

"Affirmative!" answered a woman voice, the Megaship's artificial intelligence. The onboard computer has small black cameras with single red eyes mounted on walls all over the ship, there was probably one in every room and corridor. "Astro Megaship taking off in 3…2…1!"

**Boom!**

And they were off, blasting off into space.

"Everybody, hang on," Lori muttered, pulling the controls back. The thrusters fired, sending the Megaship-full of young Rangers into a planet and galaxy they've never seen before. Lori gripped the controls so tight, you could see her knuckles go white. Only one thing was on her mind: _I hope we make it on time._

_

* * *

_For those of you who didn't know, Cerberus is a giant three-headed-dog that guarded the underworld for Hades Greek mythology. He made sure that spirits never left the underworld and humans never entered. 


End file.
